Which are the differences in meaning and usage between the two expressions "much too [something]" and the most common "too much [something]"? Are they completely interchangeable?
i.e.: "much too wise" vs "too much wise"
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Surely that's much too [something], not simply much too?– Andrew Leach ♦Feb 17, 2013 at 19:20
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yes, much too [something] vs too much [something]– KironFeb 17, 2013 at 19:26
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2Too much is a constituent, but much too isn't. "How much?" "Too much." vs "*Much too." The much in much too strong means by a large margin, and it modifies the whole phrase too strong. Whereas too much simply means overfull, and can only quantify volumes (i.e, you can say too much coffee or too much food, but you can't say *too much hot or *too much full.– John LawlerFeb 17, 2013 at 19:33
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2Yes - as a quantifier, too much ... = an excess of ..., needing a noun group (so, for example, too much aspirin) whereas much too ... is a secondary modifier, of an adjective or adverb (eg much too heavy, much too slowly).– Edwin AshworthFeb 17, 2013 at 19:40
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3 Answers
Too much modifies a noun, a verb, or an adverb, and much too modifies an adjective or adverb.
answered Feb 17, 2013 at 19:35
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4And too much says that some limit is exceeded, but not necessarily greatly exceeded; whereas much too says that some limit is greatly exceeded. Feb 17, 2013 at 22:26
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1"Too much cannot be used before adverbs and before adjectives without nouns." englishpractice.com/words/too-and-too-much– QuidamDec 14, 2019 at 8:39
No, they are not completely interchangeable instead of that they are completely different in grammar .
Too much is an adjective which explains the quality of the noun.
Example:
There is too much sugar in my coffee.
In the above example sugar is noun for which we use the adjective too much.
Much too is an adverb which specifically explains the quality of adjective
Example :
My coffee is much too hot.
In above example hot is an adjective that's why we use much too which is an adverb to explain it.
consider the following phrase:
too big.
"too" gives the adjective a negative meaning. Simply, we use "so", "very", and "too" + adjectives to make them seem stronger. This is while "so" gives the adjective a positive meaning and "too" a negative one. Now, "much" is for more emphasis, like when we say "too much expensive".
On the other hand, "much too" is different. "much" in such a case means "nearly". When one says, "much too expensive" it means "nearly too expensive" yet it is really not that expensive.
:-)
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3The second half of this answer (at least) is almost completely wrong.– Andrew Leach ♦Apr 14, 2015 at 8:45
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Thank god I clicked on that link. In Google search results this answer immediately pops up, and worse, the entry is missing your comment. Jan 4, 2018 at 16:36