To vs. Too vs. Two: Don’t Worry, It’s Not Too Hard!

Let’s get one out of the way right off the bat. It’s pretty easy to recognize the one with the “w” (e.g., two) since it always refers to the number “2” and nothing else.

So, how do you decide which of the others is correct? Let’s unpack each word to learn more about them and how they’re properly used. We’ll also include some tips to help you quickly choose the right one.

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(HINT: If the mere thought of things like adverbs, gerunds, and prepositions makes you woozy, we’ve got some tricks up our sleeve. Just skip to the “Learn a few good tricks” section below.)

Know your parts of speech. Learning the parts of speech in school wasn’t always easy. While grasping the concepts of nouns, verbs, and adjectives was mostly straightforward, understanding adverbs, gerunds, and prepositions was probably a little more complicated. Using “to” and “too” correctly is somewhat easier if you understand the parts of speech with each.

“To” is a preposition, which identifies location or direction. Think of anything Superman can do to a fence when trying to identify a preposition. (e.g., He can go over, under, around, through, or next to the fence.) The correct use of “to” as a preposition will show direction or help with proximity. (e.g., “You’re going to the bank.” Or “You’re standing next to me in line.”)

Using “too” can get a bit more complicated because it’s an adverb. Review: An adverb is a part of speech that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb by telling how, where, when, how often, and how much (e.g., well, far, soon, barely, and always).

“Too” can be used to say “also” or “as well” or to emphasize another adverb. (e.g., “We’re going to the bank, too.” Or “There are too many people in this line.”)

Understand context. As is the case with most homophones, context is everything. You can change a sentence a tiny bit and have the spelling of one word changed without it sounding any different. “There”, “their”, and “they’re” are examples that often come to mind. Knowing how “to” and “too” fit into sentences and work to modify the words before or after them is a big part of understanding context and proper usage.

Another common use of “to” is when you’re addressing someone. Let’s say you’re sending a fax, memo, etc. to someone and need to create a cover letter. (e.g., “To: Maria Esquivel”) One way you can remember this is by thinking that many times we try to use shorthand as often as possible when writing emails, sending memos, or any other type of note. Think about how we use cc, ps, c/o, and others. You can save yourself a character by using the proper “to”.

Learn a few good tricks. Okay, forget about the parts of speech. Here are some easy things you can do to remember how to use each version:

• When to use “two”: The spelling with a “w” is the number. “Two” is always the number “2” and nothing else.
• When to use “to”:
• When you want to talk about location or proximity. For example, “he’s standing next to the window” or “they’re going to the mall”.
• When you’re addressing someone. For example, “Give it to Maria” or, in a letter, fax, etc. “To: Trevis Jackson”.
• When to use “too”:
• If you mean “excessive”, “very”, or any word to describe a large quantity. For example, “The water was too cold.” or “They ran too fast.”) You can remember this by picking the version that has too many letter “o’s”.
• If you’re wanting to say “also” or “as well”. For example, “Be sure you pick up canned green beans and milk, too.” To check it, replace the word “too” with “also” or “as well”. If it sounds right, it probably is.

Understanding how to use “to” versus “too” versus “two” can be a problem for even the most prudent grammarians when they’re not paying attention, so don’t feel bad if you mix them up from time to time. Although, using some of our tips and tricks will help to solve the problem, too. Or is it “two”? We’ll let you decide.