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Eladio Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Either, Neither. A chaos for me.

Could you help me explaining which ones of the following “B” answers are the most idiomatic ones (most used in spoken English!) and the most grammatically correct ones?

1.- Negative “A” sentences:

A: I can’t swim.
B1a: I can’t, either.
B1b: Neither can I.
B1c: Neither can me.
B1d: Me either.
B1e: Nor I either.
B1f: Nor can I. (¿Especially in British English?)

A: I don’t have any money right now.
B2a: I don’t, either.
B2b: Neither do I.
B2c: Neither do me.
B2d: Me either.
B2e: Nor I either.
B2f: Nor do I. (¿Especially in British English?)

A: I have never been to Paris before.
B3a: We haven’t, either.
B3b: Neither have we.
B3c: We either.
B3d: Nor we either.
B3f: Nor have I. (¿Especially in British English?)

A: I don't like horror movies.
B4a: I don’t, either.
B4b: Neither do I.
B4c: Neither do me.
B4d: Me either.
B4e: Nor I either.
B4f: Nor do I. (¿Especially in British English?)

A: I can’t help him.
B5a: I can’t, either.
B5b: Neither can I.
B5c: Neither can me.
B5d: Me either.
B5e: Nor I either.
B5f: Nor can I. (¿Especially in British English?)

A: She mustn’t go to the party on Saturday.
B6a: Paul mustn’t, either.
B6b: Neither must Paul.
B6c: Paul either.
B6d: Nor Paul either.
B6f: Nor must I. (¿Especially in British English?)

A: I won’t do that!
B7a: I won’t, either.
B7b: Neither will I.
B7c: Neither will me.
B7d: Me either.
B7e: Nor I either.
B7f: Nor will I. (¿Especially in British English?)

A: I may not go tomorrow.
B8a: I may not, either.
B8b: Neither may I.
B8c: Me either.
B8d: Nor I either.
B8f: Nor may I. (¿Especially in British English?)

2.- Positive “A” sentences:

A: I was to Paris last year.
B9a: So was I.
B9b: Me too.

A: We like horror movies.
B10a: So do we.
B10b: So do us.
B10c: We too.

A: I wrote him an email asking for some help.
B11a: So did I.
B11b: Me too.

A: You’ve got some excellent CDs yesterday.
B12a: So have you.
B12b: You too.

A: I can do that.
B13a: So can I.
B13b: Me too.

A: She must go to the party on Saturday.
B14a: So must I.
B14b: Me too.

A: I shall read the newspaper now.
B15a: So shall I.
B15b: Me too.

A: She will be here right now.
B16a: So will I.
B16b: So will me.
B16c: Me too.

A: Peter is going to buy a new computer on Tuesday.
B17a: So am I.
B17b: Me too.

A: I may go tomorrow.
B18a: So may I.
B18b: Me too.

Are the following “B” sentences more natural in spoken English than the “A” ones?:

A: The equipment is neither accurate nor safe.
B19: The equipment isn’t accurate or safe either.

A: She was expressionless, neither laughing nor crying.
B20: She was expressionless, not laughing or crying either.

A: I have neither the time nor the money.
B21: I haven’t the time or the money either.

A: He can neither read nor write.
B22: He can’t read or write either.

Are the following “B” sentences commonly used in SPOKEN English?

B23: Neither more nor less.
B24: Neither the one nor the other.
B25: Neither this nor that.
B26: Neither too much nor too little.
B27: Neither of your words are true.
B28: Neither of them knows what I did.
B29: Neither wish was granted.

B30: Either of you can go.
B31: You may have either book.
B32: Houses on either side of the road are more exposed to the sun.
B33: Is either right or wrong, there isn’t third position.
B34: Either come in or go out.
B35: If you don’t go, I’ll not either.
B36: I am not, nor have I ever been a wealthy man.
Is there another more informal and easier way to say the same (above sentences)?

Which ones of the following “B” answers are the most idiomatic ones (most used in spoken English!)

B37: I wasn't very impressed by his replies, nor his reasons.
B38: I wasn't very impressed by his replies or his reasons either.
B39: I was neither very impressed by his replies nor his reasons either.

I do hope that answer to the few amount of 39 questions is just a very little task to you in order to help a poor English student; neither too much nor too little, really?
  

Top answer

A chaos for me too-- how about boiling it down to key questions, and then applying the response to all the modals, etc.? Hint: all of these are wrong-- 'Neither will me '.

  • A chaos for me too-- how about boiling it down to key questions, and then applying the response to all the modals, etc.?
  • Hint: all of these are wrong-- 'Neither will me '.
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12 Answers
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A chaos for me too-- how about boiling it down to key questions, and then applying the response to all the modals, etc.?

Hint: all of these are wrong-- 'Neither will me'.
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Dear Mister Micawber:
You may answer (it's just an example): Most idiomatic ones: B1b, B2d, B4e, etc
Please, help me. I'm really in trouble with these words!!
Eladio
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Eladio,

I had only got through about a third of these when the system timed out and I lost everything I was answering. I have no intention of going back and typing all that again.
You absolutely must post fewer questions in each post so that they can be answered in a reasonable amount of time.

California Jim
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A: I can’t swim.
Neither can I.
Me neither.
I can't either.

A: I don’t have any money right now.
Neither do I.
Me neither.
I don’t either.

A: I have never been to Paris before.
Neither have we.
We haven’t either.

A: I don't like horror movies.
Neither do I.
Me neither.
I don’t either.

A: I can’t help hi
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0I was going to post a question about this when I've found this old thread. Among all the possibilities listed here, I haven't seen that I was going to ask about. Can I answer with "She neither" to the sentence "He doesn't want to play"? From what I was taught, I would always answer "Neither does she". To me, "She neither" sounds awful, but there are three people here telling me it's all right.
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Colombo12cite10I was going to post a question about this when I've found this old thread. Among all the possibilities listed here, I haven't seen that I was going to ask about. Can I answer with "She neither" to the sentence "He doesn't want to play"? From what I was taught, I would always answer "Neither does she". To me, "S
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Marius Hancu12cite10I think it is OK in informal speech. See something similar, but not identical, on CNN: 12blockquote
12br
00 Umm, I think it's not alright even in informal speech, or at least I remember being told so. She can't either (ok) - She doesn't either (ok) - She neither (01b00
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0"She neither" makes me shudder. 02br
02br
00Neither is/does/was she, or 02br
00She isn't/doesn't/wasn't either.0-
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0Thanks to all of you for your answers. As I said, I thought that was an awful answer, but since three persons were telling me it was all right, I was starting to doubt it... I think that the example Marius has mentioned is a different case, isn't it? I cannot explain it in linguistic terms, but it seems that in that case it means that the person they're talking about is neither one thing nor an
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0Yes, it's a different situation.02br
02br
00A: John isn't coming. Is Jane?02br
02br
00B: No, she isn't either. (NOT: She neither)02br
02br
00In contast to 02br
02br
00A: Is she a crook or a victim?02br
02br
00B: She is neither (the case cited in MH's example) - in other words: She is neither of t

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