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MustAsk Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Sentence structure with ''too''

Hi,

Normally it is ''That was a stupid question!'' but when you use ''too'' the correct structure is 'That was too stupid a question!'' . Why? Why not ''That was a too stupid question!''? How do I know when to use ''too stupid a question'' structure?

Thank you
  

Top answer

That was a too stupid question. = very stupid. That was too stupid a question to bother answering.

  • That was a too stupid question.
  • = very stupid.
  • That was too stupid a question to bother answering.
  • = just how stupid was it?
  • That was too stupid a question.
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6 Answers
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That was a too stupid question. = very stupid.
That was too stupid a question to bother answering. = just how stupid was it?
That was too stupid a question. = Someone denied that it was a stupid question, and I am emphasizing that it was, indeed, a stupid question.
That was a stupid question, too. = following another stupid question.
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Put a/an after the adjective if as, so, how, however or too precedes the adjective:

It was as good a book as "The Sun Also Rises".
It wasn't so/as good a film as I expected.
How lo
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I'm a little confused now. Sentences 'That's too small a house' and 'That was a too stupid question' have different structures. According to Philip 'That was a too stupid question' is correct, so would 'That's a too small house'' be correct as well?
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Philip and I think differently about the correctness of That was a too stupid question. In my opinion it's incorrect.

CB
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Cool BreezePhilip and I think differently about the correctness of That was a too stupid question. In my opinion it's incorrect.CB
I wouldn't go so far as to say it's incorrect, but It's not as natural - or common - as the other way.

There are 64 COCA citations for a too adjective noun and 688 for too adjective a noun.

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