Too, To, and Two & A/An Activities and Notes

To Too and Two Practice Activity

Too, To, and Two 

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These three words are called homophones, meaning that they sound alike even though they historically come from different sources and have different meanings. 

To is the word we use when we talk about going towards something. It might help you to remember its spelling, if you think of it as the beginning letters of towards. We also use to as part of infinitive verbs as when we say such things as to run, to rain, to consider, to tell. People who make TO DO lists (they write down all the thing that need to do) have a head start in remembering this sense. 

Too is used to mean more than enough, as in, “I am too tired to stay for refreshments.” Some people remember this spelling by thinking that the two o’ s in its spelling are too many. 


Two is the way to spell the name of the number 2. One way to remember that the word with the w in it is the number is to think of other words starting with tw that mean two. Twins is one such word, and so it twice and twain. Tweezers have two parts, twilight has light from the day and the night, and if you are betwixt and between, you are caught between two choices. 

Practice Activity

http://westlake.k12.oh.us/ParksideTeachers/Kenneally/JamesRainvilleQuiz.htm

A/An Activity

Choosing Between A and An

A and An are both indefinite articles. In contrast to the, which is used to refer to a particular thing, a and an are used with general nouns. 
For example, if we say, “Take this to the car,” we have a particular car in mind, but if we say, “Take this to a car,” we mean any car.

American speakers use a when the following noun begins with a consonant (letters that are not vowels), and an with nouns that begin with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u).

Examples of a used with words beginning with consonants:

• a book a towel 
• a football player a screaming meemie
• a total failure a wicked form of punishment

Examples of an used with words beginning with vowels:

• an apple an inquiry
• an invitational tournament an oval shaped table
• an indefinite answer an inhumane form of punishment

The difference between a and an is one of pronunciation, and so we also use an in front of a silent h because judging only by sound, the word begins with the vowel that follows the h.

Examples: an hour, an honor, an herb

American speakers treat breathy-sounding h’s as consonants and so use a.

Examples: a historical book, a hoped-for outcome, a house

We also use a in front of vowels when their pronunciation sounds like you.

Examples: a European, a unit, a university

http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/mixed-english-articles1.html