Also, Too, So, As well | Either, Neither | Adverbs | English Grammar Lesson - B1-Intermediate

[Music]

Hello and welcome everyone to today's presentation  where we're going to be looking at a question from  

Yousef. Let's see what Yousef is asking me.  There's his question: Can we use 'also' in a  

negative sentence? For example, say, let's say  in a situation: He doesn't have a car. I also  

don't have a car. The short answer is: No. Now,  let's, we have to look at why, and in order to  

look at why and what we can use instead, we need  to look at a group of words which include: also,  

too, as well, so, either, neither, and nor. So,  let's start with these four words: also, too,  

as well, and so. We can only use these words with  affirmative, with positive sentences, or positive  

situations. For example, if we say: Jenny likes  vegetables. 'likes' is a positive verb, we can use  

'also'. We can say: I also like vegetables. Notice  that 'also' goes before the verb. We can say:  

I like vegetables as well. So, at the end of the  sentence. We can shorten to the auxiliary and say:  

I do as well. We can use 'too'. Again, 'two'  goes at the end of the sentence, not like 'also',  

which is in the middle: I like vegetables too. We  can use only the auxiliary: I do too. And, we can  

shorten it even further to just: Me too. A very  important point and a very common mistake I hear  

from a lot of you is also saying things like: Me  also, or Me as well. You must avoid this. The only  

word that combines with 'me' in a situation like  this is 'too'. That's your only possibility: Me  

too. You can use 'also' and 'as well' but in the  other structures that we have looked at. We can  

also use 'so' in this positive situation, but then  you need an inversion. 'so' comes at the beginning  

of the sentence, and then you need to find the  auxiliary and invert: So do I. This is all - These  

four words are the words you can use with positive  or affirmative sentences, not with negative. So,  

what can we do with negative sentences? We go  to these words: either, neither and nor. Just a  

little pronunciation point: You can also pronounce  these first two as /either/ and /neither/.  

/either/ and /neither/ are very common in American  English and in some accents in British English,  

but in standard British English. it's /either/  and Neither/. So now looking at the grammar part  

part of this, we use these three with negative  ideas or sentences. So, if our original sentence  

is now negative: Jenny doesn't like vegetables,  and I don't don't like vegetables either. You  

must avoid saying: I don't like vegetables too, or  I don't like vegetables as well, or I also don't  

like vegetables. Those words must not combine with  a negative verb like 'don't like'. You can again  

just shorten the whole sentence to the auxiliary:  I don't either. Now, if we remove the 'not' word  

from the sentence and go to the shortest form  which is 'me', 'either' changes to 'neither'. So,  

that negative 'don't' that has disappeared appears  as the little 'n' that's attached now to 'either':  

Me neither. And, if you use the inverted  form, the equivalent of 'So do I.',  

again we use the negative word 'neither'. And  now, we can also use 'nor'. 'neither' and 'nor'  

are both possible in the inverted form: Neither do  I. or Nor do I. Now, I do have a little note here  

for you. Remember that if you just shorten your  sentence and don't want to repeat the whole thing  

and just use the auxiliary, the auxiliary changes  according to the tense obviously. So for example,  

if we had the positive sentence in the past: Jenny  ate a lot of meat, then you have to use 'did': I  

did too. If you use 'so' for the inversion: So did  I. In the negative, it's the same thing. Let's say  

we use the 'going to' tense, which is formulated  with the verb 'to be': Jenny isn't going to eat  

any salmon, and me neither. Easy. But: Neither /  Nor am I, because we have to follow the tense, to  

use the same auxiliary. Right, 'either ... or' and  'neither ... nor' are double word conjunctions,  

and they are the opposite of 'both ... and'.  So for example, if someone says: Can I have  

both cake and ice cream? You have two possible  answers: No, you can have either cake or or  

ice cream. So it's a choice between the two. Or:  No, you can have neither cake nor ice cream. You  

remove both choices. And these words 'either and  neither', they can also appear on their own. So,  

if someone says: You can have either a pear or  a banana. Which one do you prefer? You can say:  

I don't mind. Either will do. You can complete  your sentence by saying: Either of them will  

do. Or with 'neither' it's the same: I don't  like either of them. I don't like either. And:  

I like neither of them. I like neither.  So I think these are all the usages of  

the words 'either' and 'neither' to complete the  picture. But I'd like to mention one more thing,  

and it is that in a dialogue, if you don't want to  think about 'oh, um... Is it a negative sentence,  

a positive sentence, or what's the auxiliary?  There's a lot to think about when you want to  

use these structures, and sometimes, okay you have  the the flow, and it comes out naturally because  

you've been practicing; sometimes it's just too  much to think about these aspects in a dialogue,  

there is one expression that you can use every  time, with the positive, with the negative, and  

in any tense. I don't know if you can guess what  that expression is. So, someone says: I don't like  

salmon. I love meat. And you can just say: 'Same  here.' That's a shortcut for all of that. So,  

if you're in doubt, use this expression. Because  if we look at for example: I've eaten too much,  

we have two aspects to think about: first,  it's positive, so we can use 'too' or 'so',  

and secondly, what's the auxiliary? What  tense is this? Ah, it's Present Perfect. So,  

I have to say: I have too. or So have I.  But, if it's just getting too much, just say:  

Same here. I've eaten too much. Same here. And  it works with the negative too. For example:  

I won't be able to have dessert. Again, you have  to think: Okay, 'won't be able': negative. I need  

to use 'neither': Me neither. Or now I have to  invert. Oh okay, what's the tense? Oh, Future. So,  

the auxiliary: Neither will I. or Nor will I.  There's a lot involved. I mean it's a great mental  

exercise. Do it, but if you're not in the mood  for it, just go: Same here. That's your shortcut,  

but the last thing: Make sure you don't use  'same here' to reciprocate a sentiment. So,  

let's look at this sentence: I'm looking  forward to our chat. Now, you can say 'same  

here'. It means: I'm looking forward to our chat  too. Me too. That's fine. But, if someone says:  

I'm looking forward to seeing you, now you want to  reciprocate. If you say 'same here', what you're  

saying is that I'm looking forward to seeing  myself too! because it means 'I'm doing exactly  

the same as you.' So, be careful. That would  not be appropriate, and we need to use another  

expression when it's reciprocal, when it's not  just parallel, but reciprocal. Again, maybe you  

can guess what this expression is. I hope you've  guessed it. It's: likewise. So, let's go again:  

If it's: I'm looking forward to our chat, and you  are also looking forward to the chat, you can say:  

Same here. / Me too. / So do I. etc. But, if  it's: I'm looking forward to seeing you, and you  

want to reciprocate, to return the compliment, the  sentiment, you have to use 'likewise' because now  

you mean: I'm looking forward to seeing you too  or as well. Okay, that's the end of this lesson  

on these words I hope it's helped to clarify  the usage. I hope you've enjoyed this lesson.  

For more on this topic, click here. Remember  to also check out my complete online course,  

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