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Frostwhite Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Either

Hi!

If someone says, "I can hardly breathe."
And you are to respond, can you say, "I can hardly breathe, either."?

Is "either" correct here because the sentence has a negative meaning?

Thanks!Emotion: smile

(How come I can't use the " Select text color" feature?)
  

Top answer

That doesn't sound good to me. "Either", when used at the end of a sentence, normally requires a negative verb to precede it. I didn't tell John about Peter and I didn't mention it to Chris either .

— Ivanhr

  • That doesn't sound good to me.
  • "Either", when used at the end of a sentence, normally requires a negative verb to precede it.
  • I didn't tell John about Peter and I didn't mention it to Chris either .
  • I'd use "too" in your reply.
  • I, too, can hardly breathe.
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6 Answers
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That doesn't sound good to me. "Either", when used at the end of a sentence, normally requires a negative verb to precede it.

I didn't tell John about Peter and I didn't mention it to Chris either.

I'd use "too" in your reply.

I, too, can hardly breathe. (or simply "me too")
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Hi Ivan!

I see.
I was just thinking about the negative meaning of the sentence because of the adverb "hardly". And since it has that kind of meaning, I thought that "either" should be used.

Thanks anyway!
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Perhaps you're right because of the "hardly").
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Hi, Frostwhite,

I'd use 'either', because of the negative meaning of the sentence derived from the word 'hardly.'

I could hardly tell, could you?

I could tell, couldn't you?

By the way, Frostwhite, what were thinking would be the answer if not 'either'?
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English 1b3By the way, Frostwhite, what were [you] thinking would be the answer if not 'either'?
Hi!

I was thinking that I could use "neither". But I had a feeling that it would sound ungrammatical.
I wasn't sure, though.

Thanks!
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To use 'neither' we need a positive sentence. But I think the construction/word order must change also (see below). Maybe someone will tell us why.

I can't breath.

Neither can I!
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