Scribd
Upload
96 views4 pages

Neither Either Explanation

SO is used to show agreement with positive statements. It is followed by an auxiliary verb that agrees with the tense of the original statement, such as "so am I" or "so will he". NEITHER is used to show agreement with negative statements and is also followed by an auxiliary verb that agrees with the tense, such as "neither do I" or "neither would she". EITHER can be used at the end of a sentence instead of NEITHER to express the same meaning. BOTH is used to show agreement with statements involving two subjects.

Uploaded by

Ania Sp.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
96 views4 pages

Neither Either Explanation

SO is used to show agreement with positive statements. It is followed by an auxiliary verb that agrees with the tense of the original statement, such as "so am I" or "so will he". NEITHER is used to show agreement with negative statements and is also followed by an auxiliary verb that agrees with the tense, such as "neither do I" or "neither would she". EITHER can be used at the end of a sentence instead of NEITHER to express the same meaning. BOTH is used to show agreement with statements involving two subjects.

Uploaded by

Ania Sp.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

So - Neither - Either

SO
SO is used to show agreement with positive statements.
SO + Auxiliary/Be + Subject (pronoun)
The Auxiliary (or To Be/Have) needs to agree with the verb tense in the original statement.
It is similar to using TOO at the end of a sentence.

Person A Person B

I am happy. So am I. = I am happy too.


I'm going to Brazil in the summer. So am I. = I am going to Brazil too.
You look nice today. So do you. = You look nice too.
Stephanie has a new boyfriend. So does Mary. = Mary has a new one too.
We went to the concert last night. So did I. = I went to the concert too.
I would love a coffee right now. So would I. = I would love a coffee too.
He will win a prize. So will I. = I will win one too.
They have finished their homework. So have I. = I have finished too.
I can speak two languages. So can I. = I can speak two too.
He should study more. So should I. = I should study more too.
We could see the mountains. So could we. = We could see them too.
My brother had eaten too much. So had I. = I had eaten too much too.
Sometimes you can use So + Auxiliary + Subject as a continuation of the first part of the sentence.

 John can sing well and so can his brother.


(= John can sing well and his brother can sing well too)

NEITHER
Neither is used to show agreement with negative statements.
Neither + Auxiliary + Subject (pronoun)
The Auxiliary needs to agree with the verb tense in the original statement.
It is similar to using either at the end of a sentence, although Neither is more commonly used,
especially in spoken English. We can also use Nor.
A: I don't understand Spanish.
B: Neither do I. / Nor do I (= I don't understand Spanish either.)
A: I cannot swim.
B: Neither can I. (= I can't swim either.)
Sometimes people respond Me Neither instead of Neither + Auxiliary + Subject though this is very
informal spoken English.

Person A Person B

I am not hungry. Neither am I. / Nor am I = I'm not hungry either.


I'm not going to quit. Neither am I. / Nor am I = I'm not going to quit either.
They don't speak French. Neither do I. / Nor do I = I don't speak French either.
Stephanie doesn't eat meat. Neither does Mary / Nor does Mary = Mary doesn't eat meat either.
Mary didn't go to the party. Neither did I. / Nor did I = I didn't go either.
I wouldn't like to do his job. Neither would I. / Nor would I = I wouldn't like to do it either.
He won't stop talking. Neither will you. / Nor will you = You won't stop either.
You haven't finished your meal. Neither have you. / Nor have you = You haven't finished either.
I can't reach the top shelf. Neither can I. / Nor can I = I can't reach it either.
You shouldn't talk in the movie. Neither should you / Nor should you = You shouldn't talk either.
We couldn't hear him. Neither could we. / Nor could we = We couldn't hear him either.
= I hadn't seen her
I hadn't seen her before. Neither had I. / Nor had I
before either.
Summary Charts
Exercises to practise:
http://www.agendaweb.org/grammar/neither-either-both-exercises.html

You might also like