The Difference Between TOO & VERY

TOO 

Remember that TOO implies excess, and something that (usually) is not good. Often students confuse TOO with superlatives (prettiest, most beautiful, hottest, fastest, etc.)

It sounds kind of strange to say:
Ex. "She's too beautiful".

One would say:
Ex.  "She's the most beautiful woman (I've ever seen)".

We often use the following construction with TOO:
Subject  + Verb TO BE + TOO + Adjective  + INFINITIVE (to+verb)

See the following examples:
1. She is too tired TO GO OUT tonight.
2. I'm too broke TO BUY Ray Ban sunglasses! (broke=no money)
3. They're too sunburnt (or sunburned) TO GO to the beach tomorrow.

VERY 

VERY is similar to the adverb "so".  Both "so" and VERY  express "a lot".  VERY is an adverb because it compliments adjectives.

Ex.  She's very beautiful!
Ex.  She's very hardworking...  She works a lot!
Ex.  The trip was very/so exciting!

TOO vs. VERY 

And finally, let's look at the difference between TOO and VERY in the following sentences:

Ex.  "I'm too tired to stay up." (I can't stay awake longer... I must sleep.)
        "I'm very tired tonight."  (Although I'm tired, I can stay up a little longer.)

Ex. "He's too frustrated to finish the project today." (He won't finish the project today.)
      "He's very frustrated with the project." (Despite being so frustrated, he may or may not finish.)


That's it!  Ciao for now.

What's the difference between wOnder & wAnder?

This is a tricky one because the difference in pronunciation is minuscule.  As a result, many ESL students have difficulty in detecting the correct word, as well as pronouncing it.  Let's take a look at each.

WONDER

The "o" in wonder sounds like "uh" as in the word "fun."  The meaning is to think or imagine something.

Ex. I wonder what she's doing right now... Is she thinking about me?"

WANDER 

The "a" in wander is like the sound "ah" as in the word "walk."  To wander means that you have no destination or that maybe you're lost or that you have no particular place to go and instead you prefer to take any direction or way that you choose spontaneously.

We often use this word with the preposition "around."

Ex.  Instead of using the map, we preferred to wander around the quaint neighborhood of El Born in Barcelona.

I hope this makes it clear for you!