te + Adjective + om te

Too ... to and Enough to

Level 4

Hy is te moeg om te werk. (He is too tired to work.) Sy is oud genoeg om te bestuur. (She is old enough to drive.)

How It Works

1. Too ... to. Put te before the adjective, then add the action with om ... te:

  • Hy is te moeg om te werk. (He is too tired to work.)
  • Die tas is te swaar om te dra. (The suitcase is too heavy to carry.)

2. ... enough to. Put genoeg after the adjective, just like English old enough: Sy is oud genoeg om te bestuur. (She is old enough to drive.) Before a noun, genoeg comes first: Ons het genoeg geld om 'n nuwe kar te koop. (We have enough money to buy a new car.) See te and genoeg.

3. Other words go between om and te. The object, time and place words stand in the middle, and the infinitive comes last (see om ... te). With a separable verb, te goes inside it: Ek is te moeg om op te staan. (I'm too tired to get up.) See te inside separable verbs.

4. No extra dit. When the subject is the thing the action is done to, you do not repeat it as an object, just as in English: Die koffie is te warm om te drink. (The coffee is too hot to drink.)

5. Saying for whom. Add vir + a person after the adjective: Die tas is te swaar vir my om te dra. (The suitcase is too heavy for me to carry.)

6. Negative sentences. The closing nie comes after the whole om ... te phrase: Hy is nie oud genoeg om te stem nie. (He isn't old enough to vote.) See double negation across clauses.

Tip: When the result has its own subject, use so ... dat instead: Hy is so moeg dat hy nie kan werk nie. (He is so tired that he can't work.) The te in om te is a different word from te meaning too.

Examples (6)

  1. Hy is te moeg om te werk.

    He is too tired to work.

    Word by Word: He is too tired for to work.

  2. Sy is oud genoeg om te bestuur.

    She is old enough to drive.

    Word by Word: She is old enough for to drive.

    Genoeg follows the adjective oud.

  3. Die tas is te swaar vir my om te dra.

    The suitcase is too heavy for me to carry.

    Word by Word: The suitcase is too heavy for me for to carry.

    Vir my after the adjective says who would have to carry it.

  4. Ons het genoeg geld om 'n nuwe kar te koop.

    We have enough money to buy a new car.

    Word by Word: We have enough money for a new car to buy.

    Before a noun, genoeg comes first, and the object 'n nuwe kar stands between om and te.

  5. Ek is te moeg om op te staan.

    I'm too tired to get up.

    Word by Word: I am too tired for up to stand.

    Opstaan is a separable verb, so te goes between op and staan.

  6. Hy is nie oud genoeg om te stem nie.

    He isn't old enough to vote.

    Word by Word: He is not old enough for to vote not.

    The closing nie comes after the om ... te phrase.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting genoeg before the adjective.

    Sy is genoeg oud om te bestuur.
    Sy is oud genoeg om te bestuur.

    With an adjective, genoeg comes after it, like English old enough.

  • Leaving out te before the infinitive.

    Hy is te moeg om werk.
    Hy is te moeg om te werk.

    Om always pairs with te, and te stands right before the infinitive.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

te + Adjective + om teLevel 4Too ... to and Enough to

Learn This First

Too ... to and enough to combine te or genoeg with an om te clause.

Words in This Pattern

tegenoegom teomte