Comments on: Homophones: Two, Too, and To

By: Florence Mills

Florence Mills — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:12:07 +0000

i was home schooled too but i would still prefer regular schools.`~’

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:20:15 +0000

The word “too” is a homophone, which means it sounds exactly like other words (to and two) but means something different. The way you’re using “too” is correct, and in this case it means “also.” So, unfortunately, your friend is wrong on this one.

By: gabi

gabi — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:35:55 +0000

I was talking with a friend, she is Russian and I’m Brazilian and we had a discussion about the adverbs “too” and “as well” and their use in a phrase; so, I will appreciate if you can clarify something to me.

I said: This store closes at 9:30, too.
She said: No, this store closes at 9:30, as well.This is the right way to say because when you say “too” sounds like “two”.

So, this is my question: Is she wrong or right, and why?

By: Magnolia

Magnolia — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:23:08 +0000

Well then, maybe therein lies our differences in perspective.

I do know in the 60′s & 70′s when I was in grade school & high school, we *did* study grammar all the way through high school. (I remember Mrs. Sutton’s sentence diagramming all too well in 10th grade )

And then, with home schooling my children the past ten years, with the curriculum we used, there was a heavy focus on grammar throughout high school.

It appears I’ve lived in a bubble by assuming that most people would have had an adaquate, even an over exposure to it.

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:57:32 +0000

As someone who survived the public school system, I can tell you that grammar is not a focal point. In fact, if I remember correctly, the last time I had a decent grammar lesson was around fourth grade. After that, grammar is picked up through corrections made on essays and reports, assuming one paid attention to such corrections. The result is that many of my peers simply did not learn the subtle nuances of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Since I love studying language, I tend to pay close attention to grammar and over the years, have taught myself many of the rules (and it didn’t hurt that I majored in English and Creative Writing). I don’t think that’s true for most people, even if they are good at telling stories or putting words together in intriguing ways. Two, too, and to are probably not the most frequently misunderstood homophones, but I still see them mixed up often enough that I feel it’s an issue worth addressing.