How to Use To, Too and Two Correctly

English is full of words that sound alike but mean different things. To, Too and Two are an example of this. It's simpler to keep them straight than you might think. Here's a short lesson to help you remember the difference between them.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Memory
• Willingness to learn
• Average proficiency in the English language

1. TWO is the easiest to remember, because it's completely different from the others. It's got a 'W' right in the middle of it. It's a number, and that's the only thing it does. One, TWO, three. It only has that job and no other.
2. TOO is really easy to remember, too. It means 'also.' I like to think that 'also' means "something extra," and the word, TOO has an extra 'o' on the end. Think--too--also--extra 'o' and you've got it down. It also shows when there's more of something than you need, as in, "too much","too many", "too big", "too small", etc.
3. TO, on the other hand, while being the smallest of the three, works the hardest. It's a preposition, for one thing, which means it tells you the "position" of something--like, you're going TO bed, or you're swinging a pocketwatch TO and fro, so you can hypnotize yourself into remembering this. Also, it's a part of every infinitive in the English language. Other languages have a modified verb form to express what we do with "TO--plus a verb." For instance, an infinitive could be like, "TO write an article for eHow". It's hard to come up with a paragraph in English that doesn't contain at least one TO.
4. Here's an example of using all three, TO, TOO and TWO in a sentence together: "The two women were going to the store, and planning to eat too much at a restaurant, too." Get it?

Tips & Warnings

• When you're writing something that other people will see, always check it for errors before you send it out. To, too and two are so easy to fix.
• If you're unsure, get a friend or a tutor to look over your work before you hand it in or share it, unless it's very private. Sometimes you can read over the same mistake several times before you catch it, where another person can see it immediately.
• Don't let grammar, spelling or punctuation errors stop you from writing; it's simple enough to correct them later, and in the meantime, you've created something. All that stuff is just finishing touches. If YOU know what you mean, you can fix it at the end so other people can understand it too. Don't let the nuts and bolts get in the way of your creativity.