Either, neither, too, so do I, neither do I etc.

Question

Hi!I've got question...I've heard (in the USA):A: I'm hungryB: I'm eitherIs it correct? Or I have to say "So am I".What about sentence below:A: I don't know why he did it. B: I don't know either/ Neither do IOr, hmm, A:I hate chemistryB: Neither do I /  I hate either/ Me tooAnd the last one:Jews have their own New Year. And I wanna ask Jew:Do you celebrate "our" New Year too/either?maybe  in this case I shouldn't use "too" or "either", either (?) (can I say,  maybe in this case neither should I use "too" nor "either").When should I use "too", "either/neither", "so/neither do I" ???I know, it's pretty easy, but I got lost.Please help.Regards, EN

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Einmalige NarizsseHi!
I've got question...

I've heard (in the USA):
A: I'm hungry
B: I'm either
Is it correct? Or I have to say "So am I".

What about sentence below:
A: I don't know why he did it.
B: I don't know either/ Neither do I

Or, hmm,
A:I hate chemistry
B: Neither do I / I hate either/ Me too

And the last one:
Jews have their own New Year. And I wanna ask Jew:
Do you celebrate "our" New Year too/either?

maybe in this case I shouldn't use "too" or "either", either (?) (can I say, maybe in this case neither should I use "too" nor "either").

When should I use "too", "either/neither", "so/neither do I" ???

I know, it's pretty easy, but I got lost.
Please help.
Regards,
EN

Hi E N,

Possibly one or the other of us hasn't been listening intently enough, because I don't remember hearing "either" used in quite the way you describe it. We say "either one or the other; I don't like either of those dresses; Either you change some of your habits, or we're through! Which one do you want? Either/Neither one will work!"

But in the types of phrases you gave as examples, I believe there always has to be a negative - but not a double negative. (I believe Spanish, on the other hand can use a double negative and it stays negative.)

I don't like that song.

I don't either. (can't use I don't neither)

Neither do I. (can't use Neither don't I or So don't I.)

We don't use "either" as an affirmative - only "so" and "too."

I like that song.

So do I.

I do too.

We don't use "I do either," or "Either do I."

That's the only problem I see. It's illogical, for sure, but although "either" is itself positive, it's only used in negative statements. OR, in choice statements, as I said above. For example, "In cases where you have an either and a do together, you either have to change the either to a neither, or you have to change the do to a don't."

In your very first example, I'm hungry, the replies could be, I'm not, So am I, I am too.

In your second example, A. and B. are both fine.

In the third example the problem arises because hate is a positive statement, although you may consider it a negative emotion. If you said, "I don't like chemistry," then we have a negative statement, and we can bring "either" and "neither" into play. "Neither do I; I don't either." But for "I hate chemistry," it has to be, "So do I: I do to."

Your fourth example is positive, so you can't use "either."

Kooyeen · Answer

Einmalige NarizsseHi! Hi there...
I've got question... --> I've got a question...

I've heard (in the USA):
A: I'm hungry
B: I'm either <-- No. You really heard this? Hmm...
Is it correct? No. Or I have to say "So am I". <-- This is ok. Also: "Me too" or "I'm angry too".

What about sentence below:
A: I don't know why he did it.
B: I don't know either/ Neither do I <-- Both are ok.

Or, hmm,
A:I hate chemistry
B: Neither do I / I hate either/ Me too <-- Only "me too" is ok.

And the last one:
Jews have their own New Year. And I wanna ask Jew: --> ...ask a Jew
Do you celebrate "our" New Year too/either? You need "Too". Or you could use "also": "Do you also celebrate..."

maybe in this case I shouldn't use "too" or "either", either (?) (can I say, maybe in this case neither should I use "too" nor "either"). ---> Maybe is this case I shouldn't use either (of them). Maybe I should use neither "too" nor "either". Etc.

When should I use "too", "either/neither", "so/neither do I" ??? I'm gonna tell you that in a few seconds...

I know, it's pretty easy, but I got lost.
Please help.
Regards,
EN

Too is used in affirmative sentences (=non negative), and either in negative sentences. Neither is basically not + either put together, so it already "contains" a negation. Examples:

I hate Mary. I hate her too. Me too. So do I. <-- "I hate" is affirmative.
I don't like Mary. I don't like her either. Me neither. Neither do I. <--- "I don't like" is negative
I hope she won't complain. I hope so too. Me too. So do I. <--- "I hope" is affirmative. You are referring to "I hope".
I hope she won't complain. I hope her father won't complain either. <---- This is the same as the one just above, but here you are referring to "won't complain", which is negative.
I don't think she will complain. I don't think so either. Me neither. Neither do I. <--- "don't think" is negative.

Ah, I was forgetting: did you know that there's a search function here in this forum that lets you search for old threads? There's a search box in the right top corner. Try that, you will find a lot of threads about basically anything.

And remember that I'm not a native speaker, so I'm always afraid to talk bulls... hmm, nonsense, LOL. A native speaker might tell you more later.

Yankee · Answer

Einmalige NarizsseHi!
I've got question...

I've heard (in the USA):
A: I'm hungry
B: ~~I'm either~~
Is it correct? No. It's not natural either. Or do I have to say "So am I".
It would surprise me tremendously if you'd actually heard a native speaker say "I'm either." Typical responses for "I'm hungry" would be these:
B: I am too.
B: So am I.
B: Me too.

If B were not hungry, then the response might be this, for example:
B. I'm not.

What about sentence below:
A: I don't know why he did it.
B: I don't know either/ Neither do I - Both are OK

Or, hmm,
A:I hate chemistry
B: ~~Neither do I / I hate either/~~ Me too
"Me too" is OK. You could also say these:
So do I.
I do too.

And the last one:
Jews have their own New Year. And I ~~wanna~~ want to ask a Jew:
Do you celebrate "our" New Year too~~/either~~?
Only "too" is OK in your question. You would be asking whether the person celebrates "our" New Year in addition to "their" New Year.

maybe in this case I shouldn't use "too" or "either", either (?) (can I say, maybe in this case neither should I use "too" nor "either").

When should I use "too", "either/neither", "so/neither do I" ???
Use 'either' with a negated verb like this:
A. I don't like chemistry.
B. I don't either. (I don't like chemistry either.)

'Neither' has a meaning similar to 'not either', so you would use it like this:
A. I don't like chemistry.
B. Neither do I.

In informal, spoken English you might hear these:
A. I don't like chemistry.
B. Me either./Me neither. => In this case, both responses would mean the same thing.

You should generally use 'so' when the verb is not negated (i.e. the sentences are both affirmative):
A. I like chemistry.
B. So do I.

Use 'too' this way:
A. I like chemistry.
B. I do too.

Hi EN
Try using the search function on this site. There are other threads that deal with these same questions. Look at these two threads for starters:

too/either

Avangi · Answer

Even native speakers have a healthy respect for bulls, Mr. K. lol

Hope everything is well with you. - A.

Hoa Thai · Answer

Hi,

Besides the excellent and detailed answers from the moderators and forums' guests, I would like to add this small note that helps me remember the either / neither patterns:

In either the pair (do, neither) or the pair (don't, either), there must be one and only one 'n' (not).

All the best,
Hoa Thai

Einmalige Narizsse · Answer

Thanks for help.

I tell you something. I had asked someone (from this forum) about this "either" and I was told to bring up NEW TOPIC.
And this person isn't new here, so it isn't my fault at all, cause I knew, people had asked about it. But I really needed help...

Well, so if someone says: "I'm hungry" it isn't possible to hear "I'm either" and "Me either", is it?

by the way, do I have to always make a question instead of sentence "Or I have to say "So am I". " ? Should it always be "or do I have to say "So am I" ?"

In my mother tongue, we don't have to make question (honestly, we do that once in a blue moon) because you can say "are you hungry" or "you're hungry" either. it depends on intonation...

Kooyeen · Answer

Einmalige NarizsseWell, so if someone says: "I'm hungry" it isn't possible to hear "I'm either" and "Me either", is it? Not possible.

by the way, do I have to always make a question instead of sentence "Or I have to say "So am I". " ? Should it always be "or do I have to say "So am I" ?"
Do I have to say "too"? Or do I have to say "either"?<--- You always need to say it like a question, so you don't leave out "do". In some cases it is possible to leave out the auxiliary verb, usually in fast speech:
Are you mad? ---> You mad?
Have you seen my keys? ---> You seen my keys?
It usually happens in sentences where the subject is "you".

In my mother tongue, we don't have to make question (honestly, we do that once in a blue moon) because you can say "are you hungry" or "you're hungry" either. it depends on intonation... Yeah, in my language questions and statements are exactly the same, the only difference is intonation. Is your first language German?

Einmalige Narizsse · Answer

Well, firstly, thanks for help.
Secondly, German isn't my first language, but I'm learning it and very often it's easier for me to say sth in German than in English. And in German I always make question :]

Anonymous · Answer

Hello, maybe my answer's late, but...

Grammatically their sentences're totally incorrect. However, they're common in informal situations among native speakers in the US.

There's in every language variaties of accents or dialects. In English we have the Ebonics or AAVE (African American Vernacular English): Black English. We hear it in songs (black music) or in the streets. I guess you've heard "ain't, dontcha, ya, gotta"
Itsrules are different from the AmE Standard. One of those is concerned with the negative forms as in your examples.
In AmE Standard you mustn't use twonegative words in onesentence, I mean, you cannot say "I don't know nothing about it".The correct form is " I don't know anything/ I know nothing about it".
In the AAVE double-negation is normal.

So, take it easy. Ebonics is everywhere, it's also part of the language.

Regards.

Touchy.

Anonymous · Answer

One more thing:

Look at this site about Ebonics... it s really nice: http://www.chaaban.info/2006/02/25/ebonics-tutorial/

Touchy

Either, neither, too, so do I, neither do I etc.

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