In this mini episode, you will learn about the strange adverb “all too.”
Episode 312 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you how to use the strange adverb “all too.” Send your questions about English and your suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hi, everyone. This is Mobina, from Iran. And you are listening to this amazing podcast, Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 312 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts, on the Stitcher app, and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you a very strange adverb. That’s right: a very strange adverb. I’m sure that you are familiar with the word too—t-o-o. This word has more than one meaning, but let’s look at the meaning of too that is “very much” or “excessively” or “extremely.” Or maybe even “to an inappropriate level.”
This is the too that you hear in a sentence like this: “This furniture is just too expensive.” This furniture is just too expensive. In other words, it is extremely expensive. It is so expensive that it is inappropriate in some way, or unreasonable. I want you to keep that meaning in your mind as I talk about this next thing.
This is the adverb that I want to tell you about. It is all too. All too. That’s a-l-l, t-o-o. All too. All too is an adverb that means “very.” Or “very much” or “too much” or “excessively” or “to an inappropriate level.” So it is very, very similar to the word too. All too and too are very similar.
Let me give you an example of a situation where somebody might use this adverb, all too.
Let’s say that your friend will be going out of town for a little while. And your friend has asked you to visit her apartment a few times while she’s gone. She wants you to make sure that everything is okay and to make sure that her cat is doing well. Your friend gives you a little warning and says, “You know, my cat can be a little bit angry or aggressive sometimes.”
And you answer like this: “Yes, I’m all too familiar with your cat’s behavior.” I’m all too familiar with your cat’s behavior. What does that mean? All too familiar.
It means “very familiar” or “extremely familiar.” But it also has a negative kind of feeling, as though you are saying something like “Yes, unfortunately, I am very familiar with your cat’s behavior.” “I am all too familiar” has that kind of negative meaning. But all too doesn’t always sound negative.
That is all too, an adverb that means “very” or “excessively” or maybe even “unfortunately.” And this is an adverb that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 312 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Mobina recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!