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Which one of the following is correct?

  1. The house is very good but too much small to accommodate the full family.

  2. The house is very good but too small to accommodate the full family.

  3. The house is very good but very much small to accommodate the full family.

Please note: Here small is an adjective , which is describing the house or small can be considered noun here.

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  • Did you look up small in the dictionary? It is an adjective, almost never a noun.
    – stangdon
    Commented Oct 27, 2017 at 17:46
  • I do know small is a adjective, but as per Merriam webster dictionary says small is a noun and adverb also.
    – asr09
    Commented Oct 31, 2017 at 15:57
  • Are you confusing "too much small" and "much too small"? "Much too <adjective>" is a stock phrase used for emphasis. "This shirt is too small" = it's too small, maybe by just a slight amount. "This shirt is much too small" = it's even smaller than that, it's absurdly small, there's no way you could think this is large enough.
    – John Feltz
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 12:08

2 Answers 2

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The question here is the difference between very and too. See those examples so you can understand:

  • That tree is very big
  • She sings very beautifully

But we use VERY/TOO MUCH before comparatives

  • He is very much taller than his brother (positive idea)
  • This is too much more expensive, I can't buy it (negative idea)

Rest: VERY MUCH / TOO MUCH

(+ noun) I don't have very much money [but "very much" with nouns is not common, see note 2 below] He drank too much gin tonic at the party (+ verb) I think you work very much / too much

Remember that we don't normally separate a transitive verb from its direct object, and this is especially true for VERY/TOO MUCH:

  • I like your house very much
  • I very much like your house not: I like very much your house (like + your house) For that reason the sentences that you are presenting above are wrong, the correct answer is The house is very good but it is too small to accommodate the full family.
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  • Your answer could be much improved if you provided references for the information you are giving. Welcome to the ELL. Here you can find examples of good answers.
    – fev
    Commented Jul 2, 2021 at 18:30
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Okay, the sentences in the question should read:

"The house is very good but much too small to accommodate the full family." or

"The house is very good but too small to accommodate the full family." or

"The house is very good but very small [to accommodate the full family].

You can't say 'too much small' or 'very much small', but in your title you're asking about the difference between 'too' and 'very'. see the following examples:

The house is small - just a small house

The house is very small - this emphasises how small it is

The house is too small (for something) - it's small compared to what you want to do with it. It might be large, but not large enough "my biggest garage is still too small for my hovercraft"

The house is much too small (for something) - emphasises the comparison (as opposed to 'a bit too small')

All my examples above deal with modifying the word 'small' which is used here as an adjective to describe the house. The use of 'much' in the title ('too much' and 'very much') is different. Consider "You have taken too much dinner" (more than you can eat - comparative) and "I would appreciate it very much if you would not do that again" (emphasis on 'appreciate it')

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  • Good Evening, I have read your answer, but as per the grammar rules, which are mentioned on Cambridge website, it says, too before adjectives/adverbs+to infinitive The house is very good but too small to accomodate the full family. Here is the link :dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/common-adverbs/…
    – asr09
    Commented Oct 31, 2017 at 15:59
  • One more point I like to add to this is that, much too can also be used , in the place of too small. This point is also mentioned cambridge website. Answer: The house is very good but much too small to accommodate the full family. Here is the link:dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/common-adverbs/…
    – asr09
    Commented Oct 31, 2017 at 16:39

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