Accurate Academy

So and neither – so am I, neither do I, etc.

So-too, neither-either – Grammar charts

A is or does the same as B

To say that A is or does the same as B, we can use so + auxiliary verb + subject in affirmative sentences and neither + auxiliary verb + subject in negative sentences.

• A: “I am from London.”  B: “So am I.” (=I am from London too.)
• A: “I’m not tired.”  B: “Neither am I.” (=I am not tired either.)

What auxiliary verb do we need?

After so/neither we use the same auxiliary or modal verb as in the first sentence: be, do, have, can, will, must, etc.

• A: “Tomas is not going to the party.”  B: “Neither is Sally.”
• A: “I’ll be here at 7.”  B: “So will I.”
• A: “Lisa can play the guitar.”  B: “So can Tim.”

When there isn’t an auxiliary or modal verb in the first sentence, we use do/does in the present and did in the past.

• A: “I want to leave.”  B: “So do I.”
• A: “George loves chocolate.”  B: “So does Bruno.”
• A: “I went to bed very late.”  B: “So did I.”

Nor = neither

We can use nor instead of neither.

• A: “I wasn’t ready.”  B: “Nor/Neither was I.”

Neither is negative

Neither/nor is a negative word, like not. For this reason, the auxiliary verb after neither should be affirmative.

• A: “I didn’t see the film yesterday.”  B: “Neither did I.” (NOT Neither didn’t I)
• A: “Ray couldn’t answer the question.”  B: “Neither could Jimmy.” (NOT Neither couldn’t Jimmy.)

 

Too, either

Another way of saying that A is or does the same as B, is the use of too or either at the end of the sentence. We use too for affirmative sentences and either for negative sentences.

• A: “I want to leave.”  B: “I want to leave too.”
• A: “I didn’t go.”  B: “I didn’t go either.”