What’s the difference between to, too, and two? It’s not too difficult to use them, once you take the time to learn what they mean – and do some practicing, too.
To
To has two functions. First, as a preposition, in which case it always precedes a noun.
I’m going to the store
He went to Italy
This belongs to David
Secondly, to indicates an infinitive when it precedes a verb.
I need to study
We want to help
He’s going to eat
Too
Too also has two uses. First, as a synonym for "also":
Can I go too?
He went to France too
I think that’s Paul’s book too
Secondly, too means excessively when it precedes an adjective or adverb.
I’m too tired
He’s walking too quickly
I ate too much
Two
Two is a number.
One, two, three…
I have two cars
She ate two pieces of pie
The Bottom Line
The confusion between to, too, and two occurs because the three words are pronounced identically. If you’re able to replace the word with "also" or "excessively/too much," use too. If the word is a number, use two. Otherwise, you’ll want to use to.
How would you write:
There are three twos or( toos) or (tos) in the English language.
I have an idea on how to do this but I am interested in your answer first.
Thanks,
Hal Clark
Twos / toos / tos are the correct forms of the plural, but you can’t really say any of them since there’s only one of each. Saying “there are three twos” is untrue: there’s only one “two.” Instead, you should say something like “There are three words pronounced like ‘two’ in English.”
if i ask you how many twos are in the english language how would you reply to this question?
In writing, I would say “one,” because there is only one “two.” But if you asked me orally, I would say “three,” because there are three different words pronounced that way: to, too, and two.
You need to write all three in the sentence because it is not just a sentence but also an explanatory sentence.
There are three tüz in the English language.