REMOVE TOO

We can write a sentence in various ways as per the need. Same sentence can have a different structure but with same
meaning. A negative sentence can have a positive meaning while a positive sentence can have negative meaning.

Ex. He is too fat.

In the above sentence no word showing negation has been directly used but the meaning of the sentence is
negative. The word ‘too’ indicates excessiveness of something with negativity. The actual meaning of the
sentence is ‘he is so fat that he is not perfect for something’

The adverb too means ‘more than is necessary’ or ‘more than was expected’. It has a negative meaning. The
structure too…to has a similar meaning.
In the transformation of sentences remove too is frequently faced question by the students. Let’s see how we can
transform a sentence with too.
Ram is too fat to run fast.
The above sentence means Ram can not run fast because he is fat. This sentence can be written in different way by
removing ‘Too’ and using ‘so…that’ as follows.

Ram is so fat that he can not run

In the above sentence ‘so’ is used to show the effect of ‘too’ which is a reason of not able to run fast.

GUIDELINES:

1. Remove too from the original sentence and use ‘so…that’

2. Use appropriate model auxiliary like can, could, will, would.

3. A sentence is present tense gets a present tense auxiliary like can, will etc, while a sentence is past
tense will get past form of the auxiliary like could, would etc.

4. Use conjunction ‘that’ to join two parts of the sentence.

5. Use the pronoun form of the subject of the sentence is the negative clause of the sentence. See following

examples for further explanation.

6. He was too weak to walk.

Ans. He was so weak that he could not walk.

7. Government is too strict to remove the ban

Ans. Government is so strict that it will not remove the ban.

8. People were too furious to be controlled

Ans. People were so furious that they could not be controlled.

9. Tree was too high to climb.

Ans. Tree is so high that it can not be climbed.

Prof. S. H. Patil - English Page 1

10. Sita is too small to do the job.

Ans. Sita is so small that she can not do the job.

11. You are too young to join the service.

Ans. You are so young that you can not join the service.

12. It’s too cold to play an outdoor game

Ans. It’s so cold that we can not play an outdoor game.

13. Ranbir is too cute to be ignored.

Ans. Ranbir so cute that he can not be ignored.

14. Rakesh is too lazy to do any job.

Ans. Rakesh is so lazy that he can not do any job.

15. It is too easy question for anyone to answer.

Ans. It is so easy question that anyone can answer it.

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1. He was too weak to walk.

Ans. He was so weak that he could not walk.

2. Government is too strict to remove the ban

Ans. Government is so strict that it will not remove the ban.

3. People were too furious to be controlled

Ans. People were so furious that they could not be controlled.

4. Tree was too high to climb.

Ans. Tree is so high that it cannot be climbed.

5. Sita is too small to do the job.

Ans. Sita is so small that she cannot do the job.

6. You are too young to join the service.

Ans. You are so young that you cannot join the service.

7. It’s too cold to play an outdoor game

Ans. It’s so cold that we can not play an outdoor game.

8. Ranbir is too cute to be ignored.

Ans. Ranbir so cute that he can not be ignored.

9. Rakesh is too lazy to do any job.

Ans. Rakesh is so lazy that he can not do any job.

10. It is too easy question for anyone to answer.

Ans. It is so easy question that anyone can answer it.

Prof. S. H. Patil - English Page 3

Transformation Of Sentences Containing The Adverb 'Too'
The rules for making sentences by removing the adverb 'too' are as follows.

Rule 1. If there is a use of Adjective after 'too' and Infinitive after Adjective then
He was too tired to work.

(i) 'so' is used in place of the adverb 'too'.

(ii) 'that' is used after the used Adjective in the sentence.

(iii) After this, anyone from 'he', 'she', 'it', 'they', 'I', 'we' is used according to the subject of the first clause.

(iv) Replace 'to' with 'cannot' in Present tense and 'could not' in Past tense.
Examples :
(a) He is too old to work hard.
He is so old that he cannot work hard.

(b) The mother was too weak to control her sons.

The mother was so weak that she could not control her sons.

(v) Passive voice sentence will be transformed into Passive voice.

Example :
He speaks too fast to be understood.
He speaks so fast that he cannot be understood.

(vi) 'not' in 'that' clause can also be used with 'do', 'does', 'will' and 'would'.
Example :
She is too proud to apologize.
She is so proud that she does not apologize.

Rule 2. If, Infinitive is Negative which is used after 'too' then during the transformation of such sentences
'not' is not used.

Example :
He is too poor not to accept the gift.
He is so poor that he can accept the gift.

Rule 3. If, the subject

of the sentence is 'It' or inanimate then change 'for me' into 'I', 'for him' into 'he', 'for us' into 'we' and 'for
them' into 'they' which are used in that sentence.
Example :
The passage is too difficult for me to understand.
The passage is so difficult that I cannot understand.

Rule 4. In some sentences, the transformation of 'for + Noun' in the place of Infinitive.
Examples :
(a) My heart was too full for words.
My heart was so full that I could not utter any word.

(b) His sorrow is too deep for tears.

His sorrow is so deep that it cannot be expressed in tears.

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Rule 5. If, Adjective is used after 'too' but Infinitive is not used in the sentence then 'extremely' or 'over' is
used in the place of 'too'.
Examples:
(a) She is too eager for praise.
She is over eager for praise.

(b) The weather is too cold.

The weather is extremely cold.

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 Sentence transformation using too…to
The adverb too means ‘more than is necessary’ or ‘more than was expected’. It has a negative
meaning. The structure too…to has a similar meaning.

Read the example sentences given below.

It was very late. We couldn’t start a new lesson.

We can combine these two sentences using too…to.

It was too late to start a new lesson. OR It was so late that we couldn’t start a new lesson.

Exercise

Rewrite the following sentences using the structure too…to.

1. He is so short that he cannot be a police officer.

2. He was so tired that he could not walk.

3. His theories are so difficult that I cannot comprehend them.

4. He is so young that he cannot understand a complex theory like this.

5. Your story is so ridiculous that I cannot believe it.

6. Those people are so selfish that they do not deserve any pity.

7. He was so shocked that he could not speak.

8. There are so many boys in the class that one teacher cannot control them.

Answers

1. He is too short to be a police officer.

2. He was too tired to walk.

3. His theories are too difficult for me to comprehend.

4. He is too young to understand a complex theory like this.

5. Your story is too ridiculous for me to believe.

6. Those people are too selfish to deserve any pity.

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 Sentence transformation using too…to

7. He was too shocked to speak.

8. There are too many boys in the class for one teacher to control.

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