Neither do I: How and When to Use in English
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Neither do I
Neither do I is the same as the expression 'Me neither':
He doesn't like the boss. Neither do I. He doesn't like the boss. I also do not like the boss.
This expression, along with other subjects and auxiliary verbs, is used for all personal pronouns (I, You, He/She/It, We, They):
They aren't tired. Neither am I. They are not tired. I am also not tired.
She is not very friendly. Neither is her family. She is not very friendly. Her family is also not very friendly.
Our opponents don't look very strong. But then again, neither do we. Our opponents don't look very strong. We also do not look very strong, though!
Exercise 1
Bob: I just climbed sixty flights of stairs. I can't believe the elevator is still broken.
Susie: .
Bob: But you don't look very tired. You must be in very good shape.
Susie: No. I just took the elevator.
Bob: What!? But it's broken.
Susie: One is broken, but not of them...
Bob: There's another one?! Damn. I could really use a drink.
Susie: , but I think I'll wait until after work.
Susie: .
Bob: But you don't look very tired. You must be in very good shape.
Susie: No. I just took the elevator.
Bob: What!? But it's broken.
Susie: One is broken, but not of them...
Bob: There's another one?! Damn. I could really use a drink.
Susie: , but I think I'll wait until after work.
Bob: I just climbed sixty flights of stairs. I can't believe the elevator is still broken.
Susie: Neither can I 1.
Bob: But you don't look very tired. You must be in very good shape.
Susie: No. I just took the elevator.
Bob: What!? But it's broken.
Susie: One is broken, but not both 2 of them...
Bob: There's another one?! Damn. I could really use a drink.
Susie: So could I 3, but I think I'll wait until after work.
Susie: Neither can I 1.
Bob: But you don't look very tired. You must be in very good shape.
Susie: No. I just took the elevator.
Bob: What!? But it's broken.
Susie: One is broken, but not both 2 of them...
Bob: There's another one?! Damn. I could really use a drink.
Susie: So could I 3, but I think I'll wait until after work.
1 Neither can I: Susie says 'Neither can I' to express her agreement with Bob's negative statement that he 'can't believe the elevator is broken'. We use 'can' as the auxiliary in the response, because it corresponds with the auxiliary used in Bob's original statement ("can't").
1 Neither do I: We do not use 'do' as the auxiliary in the response, because 'can' is already used in the original statement. When replying to a statement such as this one, we generally use the same auxiliary used in the original statement.
1 Neither am I: We do not use 'am' as the auxiliary in the response, because 'can' is already used in the original statement. When replying to a statement such as this one, we generally use the same auxiliary used in the original statement.
1 Neither did I: We do not use 'did' as the auxiliary in the response, because 'can' is already used in the original statement. When replying to a statement such as this one, we generally use the same auxiliary used in the original statement.
2 both: This is the best choice here. We use 'both' as a pronoun here to indicate the 'two elevators'. Example: -Do you want this cat or the other one? -I want both, mummy!
2 two: Although 'two of them' is grammatically correct, it does not make sense.
2 the both: 'The both of them' is grammatically incorrect. We do not use the definite article 'the' before 'both' when it is a pronoun.
3 So could I: Susie says 'So could I' to express her agreement with Bob's affirmative statement that he 'could use a drink'. We use 'could' as the auxiliary in the response, because it corresponds with the auxiliary used in Bob's original statement. Example: -I can run a mile in 4 minutes. -So can I.
3 So do I: We do not use 'do' as the auxiliary in the response, because 'can' is already used in the original statement.
3 So am I: We do not use 'am' as the auxiliary in the response, because 'can' is already used in the original statement.
3 So did I: We do not use 'did' as the auxiliary in the response, because 'can' is already used in the original statement.
Exercise 2
Kevin: Hey, Philip, have you seen the new girl in marketing?
Philip: No, not yet.
Kevin: Yeah, . But I heard she was really nice.
Philip: . Maybe I'll bring her some chocolates and welcome her to the team.
Kevin: Oooo! Let's get her flowers and some cake! Women are so terrific.
Philip: No, not yet.
Kevin: Yeah, . But I heard she was really nice.
Philip: . Maybe I'll bring her some chocolates and welcome her to the team.
Kevin: Oooo! Let's get her flowers and some cake! Women are so terrific.
Kevin: Hey, Philip, have you seen the new girl in marketing?
Philip: No, not yet.
Kevin: Yeah, neither have I 1. But I heard she was really nice.
Philip: Me too 2. Maybe I'll bring her some chocolates and welcome her to the team.
Kevin: Oooo! Let's get her flowers and some cake! Women are so terrific.
Philip: No, not yet.
Kevin: Yeah, neither have I 1. But I heard she was really nice.
Philip: Me too 2. Maybe I'll bring her some chocolates and welcome her to the team.
Kevin: Oooo! Let's get her flowers and some cake! Women are so terrific.
1 neither have I: This is the best choice here. Kevin is giving a negative response. He is saying that he has also 'not yet' seen the new marketing girl. We use the verb 'have', because it must agree with the verb which preceded it (have).
1 neither do I: We cannot say 'neither do I', because Kevin says that neither 'has' he seen the new marketing girl. The verb 'to have' must be used in this 'neither' construction.
1 my neither: 'My neither' is not a valid grammatical construction. We can say: 'Me neither' or 'neither am I'.
1 me too: We cannot use 'me too' here because Kevin is not responding in the affirmative.
2 Me too: This is the best choice here. Philip is responding in the affirmative. He is saying that he has 'also' heard that the new girl in marketing is nice. Note that although 'me too' is common and acceptable in informal English, it would be more correct (technically speaking) to say 'so did I' here.
2 Me neither: We cannot use 'me neither' here, because Philip is not giving a negative response.
2 Neither am I: We cannot use 'neither am I' here, because Philip is not giving a negative response.
2 Neither do I: We cannot use 'neither do I' here, because Philip is not responding in the negative.
Exercise 3
Horatio: Bruno, I have a problem.
Bruno: . But you go first.
Horatio: I've had several complaints from the test monkeys.
Bruno: Oh please! Those primitive beasts. I can't take their incessant complaints.
Horatio: . But we must act quickly. They have already formed a union, and their chief is negotiating with a French official as we speak.
Bruno: Those dirty apes.
Horatio: Actually, the French are a very clean people.
Bruno: . But you go first.
Horatio: I've had several complaints from the test monkeys.
Bruno: Oh please! Those primitive beasts. I can't take their incessant complaints.
Horatio: . But we must act quickly. They have already formed a union, and their chief is negotiating with a French official as we speak.
Bruno: Those dirty apes.
Horatio: Actually, the French are a very clean people.
Horatio: Bruno, I have a problem.
Bruno: Me too 1. But you go first.
Horatio: I've had several complaints from the test monkeys.
Bruno: Oh please! Those primitive beasts. I can't take their incessant complaints.
Horatio: Neither can I 2. But we must act quickly. They have already formed a union, and their chief is negotiating with a French official as we speak.
Bruno: Those dirty apes.
Horatio: Actually, the French are a very clean people.
Bruno: Me too 1. But you go first.
Horatio: I've had several complaints from the test monkeys.
Bruno: Oh please! Those primitive beasts. I can't take their incessant complaints.
Horatio: Neither can I 2. But we must act quickly. They have already formed a union, and their chief is negotiating with a French official as we speak.
Bruno: Those dirty apes.
Horatio: Actually, the French are a very clean people.
1 Me too: This is the best choice here. Bruno is responding in the affirmative. He is telling Horatio that he 'also' has a problem.
1 So does me: 'So does me' is not a valid grammatical construction. We should say: 'So do I' or 'me too'.
1 Neither do I: We cannot use 'neither do I' in this case. Bruno is not responding in the negative. He is telling Horatio that he 'has' a problem, and so we must use an affirmative response here.
1 Myself neither: We cannot use 'myself neither' in this case. Bruno is not responding in the negative. He is telling Horatio that he also 'has' a problem.
2 Neither can I: Whenever we use the construction: 'Neither + verb + subject', the verb must be the same as that which preceded it (can, in this case). Because Bruno says 'I can't...', Horatio's response takes the same construction: 'Neither can I'.
2 Neither have I: We cannot say 'neither have I', because Horatio is saying that neither 'can' he take the complaining of the monkeys.
2 Neither take I: We cannot say 'neither take I', because Horatio is saying that neither 'can' he take the complaining of the monkeys. Also, it is very rare that the 'Neither do I' construction uses an ordinary verb. It almost always takes an auxiliary.
2 Neither do I: We cannot say 'neither do I', because Horatio is saying that neither 'can' he take the complaining of the monkeys.
Exercise 4
You are talking to a friend and you agree with everything she says. Respond to all of her comments using the appropriate construction. Follow the examples.
For example:
Friend: I don't like violent films. | Your Response : Neither do I.
Friend: I feel great today! | Your Response : So do I!
Friend: I could really eat some ice-cream.
Your Response : !
Friend: But I'm not a very big fan of chocolate.
Your Response : .
Friend: Then again, I do like chocolate cakes.
Your Response : .
Friend: Do you just agree with everything I say? I think you're stupid.
Your Response : .
For example:
Friend: I don't like violent films. | Your Response : Neither do I.
Friend: I feel great today! | Your Response : So do I!
Friend: I could really eat some ice-cream.
Your Response : !
Friend: But I'm not a very big fan of chocolate.
Your Response : .
Friend: Then again, I do like chocolate cakes.
Your Response : .
Friend: Do you just agree with everything I say? I think you're stupid.
Your Response : .
You are talking to a friend and you agree with everything she says. Respond to all of her comments using the appropriate construction. Follow the examples.
For example:
Friend: I don't like violent films. | Your Response : Neither do I.
Friend: I feel great today! | Your Response : So do I!
Friend: I could really eat some ice-cream.
Your Response : So could I 1!
Friend: But I'm not a very big fan of chocolate.
Your Response : Neither am I 2.
Friend: Then again, I do like chocolate cakes.
Your Response : So do I 3.
Friend: Do you just agree with everything I say? I think you're stupid.
Your Response : So do I 4.
For example:
Friend: I don't like violent films. | Your Response : Neither do I.
Friend: I feel great today! | Your Response : So do I!
Friend: I could really eat some ice-cream.
Your Response : So could I 1!
Friend: But I'm not a very big fan of chocolate.
Your Response : Neither am I 2.
Friend: Then again, I do like chocolate cakes.
Your Response : So do I 3.
Friend: Do you just agree with everything I say? I think you're stupid.
Your Response : So do I 4.
1 So could I: This is the best choice here. Because your friend's original statement (I could really eat some ice-cream) is in the affirmative, we use the affirmative 'So could I' to reply. We use 'could' here, because the auxiliary must agree with that used in the original. 'Me too' is also acceptable here.
2 Neither am I: This is the best choice here. Because your friend's original statement (I'm not a fan of chocolate) is in the negative we use the negative 'Neither am I'. We use 'am' here, because the auxiliary must agree with that used in the original.
3 So do I: This is the best choice here. Because your friend's original statement (I do like chocolate cakes) is in the affirmative, we use the affirmative 'So do I'. We use 'do' here, because the auxiliary must agree with that used in the original.
4 So do I: This is the best choice here. Because your friend's original statement (I think you're stupid) is in the affirmative we use the affirmative 'So do I'. We usually use 'do' in these constructions when there is not an auxiliary specified in the original statement.
Exercise 5
Some of the responses in this conversation are grammatically incorrect or inappropriate. Choose 'Correct' or 'Incorrect' for each example.
Bruno: I've been thinking about taking a vacation.
Bob: So do I = .
Bruno: But there's so much work to do, I don't know if I have the time.
Bob: Neither do I = .
Bruno: Then again, I would really enjoy some time off.
Bob: So do I = .
Bruno: To be honest though, I can't imagine abandoning everything for several weeks.
Bob: Neither do I = .
Bruno: I've been thinking about taking a vacation.
Bob: So do I = .
Bruno: But there's so much work to do, I don't know if I have the time.
Bob: Neither do I = .
Bruno: Then again, I would really enjoy some time off.
Bob: So do I = .
Bruno: To be honest though, I can't imagine abandoning everything for several weeks.
Bob: Neither do I = .
Some of the responses in this conversation are grammatically incorrect or inappropriate. Choose 'Correct' or 'Incorrect' for each example.
Bruno: I've been thinking about taking a vacation.
Bob: So do I = Incorrect 1.
Bruno: But there's so much work to do, I don't know if I have the time.
Bob: Neither do I = Correct 2.
Bruno: Then again, I would really enjoy some time off.
Bob: So do I = Incorrect 3.
Bruno: To be honest though, I can't imagine abandoning everything for several weeks.
Bob: Neither do I = Incorrect 4.
Bruno: I've been thinking about taking a vacation.
Bob: So do I = Incorrect 1.
Bruno: But there's so much work to do, I don't know if I have the time.
Bob: Neither do I = Correct 2.
Bruno: Then again, I would really enjoy some time off.
Bob: So do I = Incorrect 3.
Bruno: To be honest though, I can't imagine abandoning everything for several weeks.
Bob: Neither do I = Incorrect 4.
1 Incorrect: This is the best choice here. 'So do I' is grammatically incorrect in this context. The auxiliary must agree with the auxiliary in the original statement which is 'have' (I have been thinking). The correct response would be: 'So have I'.
1 Correct: 'So do I' is not correct here.
2 Correct: This is the best choice here. 'Neither do I' is grammatically correct in this context. Because Bruno's original statement is in the negative (I don't know if I have the time), Bob uses 'Neither do I' to express his agreement with Bruno.
2 Incorrect: 'Neither do I' is not incorrect.
3 Incorrect: This is the best choice here. 'So do I' is grammatically incorrect in this context. The auxiliary must agree with the auxiliary in the original statement which is 'would' (I would really enjoy some time off). The correct response would be: 'So would I'.
3 Correct: 'So do I' is not correct here.
4 Incorrect: This is the best choice here. 'Neither do I' is grammatically incorrect in this context. The auxiliary must agree with the auxiliary in the original statement which is 'can' (I can't imagine abandoning everything). The correct response would be: 'Neither can I'.
4 Correct: 'Neither do I' is not correct here.
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