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Are you excited to learn something new in this episode of Coffee Break English?
Me too! Today we are learning about so, to, either and neither.
I'm ready to go, Mark.
So am I. Let's get started.
Welcome to the Coffee Break English show.
How are you, Mark? I am very well today and delighted to be back in the studio.
How are you, Nick? I'm doing really well, yeah.
I'm absolutely ready for this episode.
Let's start with an overview of the topic today.
So we're looking at so, to, either and neither.
When do we use these?
I guess we use these words to show similarity with what someone has said.
Exactly. Absolutely.
So they're used in conversation and we use so and to for positive agreement and we use either and neither for negative agreement.
Yeah. Can we split this up?
Can we start with so, with some examples?
Yeah, absolutely. So, so is the simplest one to use really.
And we use it to, with the short answer.
So, if I say, I am happy.
So am I. Great. I like coffee.
So do I. I can speak Italian.
So can I. I have been to France.
So have I. Excellent.
Exactly. So, in each case, our auxiliary verb is changing based on the context, based on the information.
And the The auxiliary goes with the main verb.
So in the examples we used there, we had, I am happy, and the auxiliary is be.
So we repeat that verb be.
I am happy, so am I.
But with a normal verb like I like, we need the auxiliary do.
And with modal verbs, the modal verb remains as the auxiliary.
So I can speak Italian, so can I.
So, if it's a modal verb, like can or must, we can repeat that verb as part of the so must I, so have I.
Exactly. Yeah, absolutely.
And if it's a kind of normal verb, like like or play, then that's when we use do.
Exactly. And if we use the past, it's going to be not do, but did.
Okay. So, I went to the supermarket at lunchtime.
So did I. Funny that, eh?
Okay, so that's so.
That's so. And the next one we have is to.
Yeah, so that's T -O -O.
Yeah, exactly. So there are some other options here for to that we need to look at.
We have the short answer.
Yeah. And there's a nice simple answer here.
I can say, I am Scottish.
Me too. And then we have a short answer.
It's just got the auxiliary in it.
Okay. So I can say, I can ride a bike.
Right, so in that situation, I would say, I can too.
Exactly. Just using that auxiliary, well, the modal verb there, I can too.
Exactly, we don't need the main verb, we've just got that modal verb as an auxiliary.
Then in the next option, we've got the entire sentence.
So I can say, I have been to Germany.
And I could say, I have been to Germany too.
Exactly. Perfect. So it's really flexible too.
It can go in different places, and we can say a long sentence or just me too.
So far we've seen so, and so we used with, for example, so am I, or so are you, so do I, so did I went to the supermarket at lunchtime, so did I, and so on.
Yes, exactly, absolutely.
Then we also had to, and to is where we would say like me too, you too, or I went to, that kind of thing.
so these are for positive similarities what happens when it's a negative similarity if we've both not been to germany for example yeah so in this case we've got two quantifiers actually that we can use in this situation and that's either and neither either and neither now there's a funny thing here because i have heard people saying either and neither yeah and you probably have heard me say either or neither and there is a rule behind this um some people do exchange it and there's no difference there is absolutely no difference in meaning the difference here is that either is more common in the uk
okay and either is more common in the usa okay that makes sense there's a lot of tv now there's the internet and this is mixed and most people will interchange change them around the world either either neither neither let's call the whole thing off a classic song there so that's important to remember that that's the case for either either neither neither it's the same rule for both of them so now let's look at the structures here because we have to be a little bit careful okay um so let's start with neither neither um has that n on the front which which means that's the negative part of the sentence.
So we can use a positive structure to say a negative thing.
So I haven't been to Japan.
Me neither. I would love to go to Japan.
Me too. Okay. That's funny because I said me neither there, but I think I would more naturally say me neither.
So yeah, I think you might find that you might say one or the other.
It's not important whether it's either there either but maybe you might say neither more often okay it's possible you'll hear both yeah the key thing exactly so that was the simple structure me neither or neither um then we have a short answer that we can use with uh neither and that would be for example i can't speak swahili neither can i exactly and that's the same thing going on with that auxiliary spliluring, with, in this case it's a modal verb, and it's like, so do I, neither can I.
And I suppose the funny thing here is the fact that we're swapping around the order, we're putting the modal verb before the pronoun, neither can I, whereas we would normally say, I can do something, or I can't do something.
Yeah, exactly, and this is just one of those things in English where we can mix up the words, the pens in this case we're fronting and i think we're emphasizing that we have this thing in common neither can i okay the next thing is we're going to remove the n and we're going to use either or either right um in this case there is a short answer we can use the auxiliary but there's no simple answer um so i could say i shouldn't eat so much chocolate mark i shouldn't either either yeah okay I could have said neither should I exactly but I shouldn't either I think the great thing about this is that you
can choose which option you want and if you want you can go for a simple option that's absolutely fine me neither or if you want to be more eloquent you can use a long answer I suppose the key thing is that our learners don't make the mistake and say me too here because that would be wrong.
Exactly, and that can happen.
It's okay if that happens.
Just think about whether it's a positive agreement or a negative agreement and use the appropriate one.
But there's no problem saying me too or me neither as a short answer, it's fine.
You'll be understood as the key thing.
Looking at the full form of either, we can and say the entire sentence and just put it on the end.
So, I don't like pineapple on pizza, Mark.
I don't like pineapple on pizza either.
Yeah. My brother does like pineapple on his pizza, but that's for another story.
And I may have tried it once or twice.
I have too. Just don't tell Francesca.
So that takes us almost to a bit of a practice quiz but shall we just review the different points yeah that makes sense yeah so we started with so so for example i can speak italian so can i um or um i like apples so do i yeah okay um Then we looked at two.
So I could say, I like coffee.
I do too. Great, exactly.
And then we looked at the negative similarities.
So I can say, I can't speak Swahili.
Neither can I. Yeah, great.
Right. Or if we want to use either, we could say, I haven't been to the new supermarket in the town centre today.
I haven't either. Yeah, exactly.
Or I haven't been either, I guess.
Yeah. So I'm ready for the quiz, Mark, are you?
Me too. I am ready for the quiz.
And as we do the quiz, we'll take it turnabout.
Nick will say one phrase, I'll say another phrase, but each time we'll leave a little pause for you to decide whether you are in agreement with us and also use your expressions.
Me too, so am I, neither am I.
I can't. And the key here is if you're not in agreement with us, you don't need to use one of these options.
It's just to emphasise that there is that agreement.
Exactly. Right, so first one, I like reading books, Mark.
Hmm. I do too I love reading books Oh so do I I can't dance very well Nick I can't dance very well either Mark but I love ABBA I do too I love ABBA and I would dance to any ABBA song Me too Now Now, I haven't been to Madrid I have been to Madrid so I'm not going to agree in one way or the other What about I didn't go anywhere interesting last weekend Neither did I I didn't go anywhere I stayed at home and relaxed Let's do one more OK.
I haven't had lunch yet, Mark.
Neither have I, Nick.
And I think that's the perfect reason to bring this episode to a close.
We hope that you've enjoyed learning about to, so, neither, neither, either, either.
All of these words.
And if you'd like to continue with your English learning, then you can watch this video here.
You'll find the link in the description if you're listening to this show.
and you will also find the blog article with lots of useful information and practice.
Don't forget that you can sign up to our Coffee Break English mailing list and get regular help with your English.
Just head to coffeebreakenglish .com and we hope to see you there.
Yeah, well I've really enjoyed this episode, Mark.
Me too. We'll be back again soon with more.
For now, happy Coffee Breaking!
Happy Coffee Breaking!
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