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Which of the following sentences is better?

1.​ Don't follow me, I am too lost.

2.​ Don't follow me, I am lost too.

Where should I put too when it means 'also'?

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    1) I am too lost - I'm very lost. 2) I'm lost too - I'm also lost.
    – Sandeep D
    Oct 31, 2014 at 10:29
  • You can also say, "I, too, am lost" -- which is more formal than "I'm lost too". I, too, have misgivings about the stability of this bridge.
    – Tᴚoɯɐuo
    Nov 1, 2014 at 12:19

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It's all dependant on the position of the word too, the second one is correct.

Don't follow me, I'm lost too.

Here too is used to mean as well or also.

Don't follow me, I'm too lost

Because of the position of too the first sentence uses too to modify lost, but lost is absolute - you either are lost or you are not, there is no scale of 'lostness' even though you might hear people saying "I'm a little bit lost".

You might use "a little bit lost" when you are in a big city and you have taken a ride to an area you are unfamiliar with - you know your are in X City (so you are not lost) but you don't know the immediate area you are currently in (so you are lost).

You could say "Don't follow me, I'm also lost" but when you use too before lost it doesn't take the meaning of also

The definition of too at Dictionary.com provides a number of definitions and some examples. Definitions 1 and 2 are the ones in use in your two sentences.

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  • I would consider substituting so for too in the first sentence (I am too lost > I am so lost). A lot of English Learners mix up the use of so and too.
    – user6951
    Oct 31, 2014 at 14:04
  • @CarSmack Indeed, so would work fine there giving a quite modern phrasing.
    – Frank
    Oct 31, 2014 at 14:06
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Don't follow me, I am too lost.

Don't follow me, I am lost too.

When too means as well or also, it needs to go after any complements of the verb:

  • I posted Dave a letter too.

  • *I posted Dave too a letter. (wrong)

  • I bet him five pounds too.

  • *I bet him too five pounds. (wrong)

However, it does not need to go after any adjuncts (adjuncts are extra bits of information, usually about when, where, why or how we did something that we usually put at the end of the sentence):

  • I posted Dave a letter too last Friday.
  • I bet him five pounds too for fun.

If too appears earlier in the sentence it will be interpreted as the degree adverb too, which is the word we find in sentences like too early or too much.

In the Original Poster's second sentence, too comes after the adjective lost. Here lost is the complement of the verb BE. So we understand the second sentence to mean:

  • Don't follow me, I am lost also.

In the first example, where too comes before the complement (before lost), we interpret too as a degree adverb. The fist sentence means something like:

  • Don't follow me, I am very lost. ( - which will be a problem if you follow me)

Hope this helps!

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