To, Too, and Two!

To, Too, or Two?

Since they are all pronounced the same sometimes it can be difficult to determine which one to use. I think "two" is the easiest to remember and identify. Hopefully the following information will be helpful in understanding how each of them are used correctly. I know it helped me.

"To generally shows direction. Too means 'also.' Two is the number.

[Example:] We, too, are going to the meeting in two hours."

(Lunsford, The Everyday Writer 313).

http://www.drgrammar.org/faqs/#100

To

To has two functions. First, as a preposition, in which case it always precedes a noun.

I'm going to the store
He went to Italy
This belongs to David

Secondly, to indicates an infinitive when it precedes a verb.

I need to study
We want to help
He's going to eat

Too

Too also has two uses. First, as a synonym for "also":

Can I go too?
He went to France too
I think that's Paul's book too

Secondly, too means excessively when it precedes an adjective or adverb.

I'm too tired
He's walking too quickly
I ate too much

Two

Two is a number.

One, two, three...
I have two cars
She ate two pieces of pie

The Bottom Line

The confusion between to, too, and two occurs because the three words are pronounced identically.

One: If you're able to replace the word with "also" or "excessively/too much," use too. Two: If the word is a number, use two. Otherwise, you'll want to use to.

http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/difficulties/totootwo.html