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I use 'so do I' to say that a positive sentence is also true for me, and I use 'neither do I' to say that a negative sentence is also true for me:
- John: I hate mushrooms.
- Me: So do I (=I also hate mushrooms).
- Lucy: I don't live in London.
- Me: Neither do I (=I also don't live in London. For example, maybe Lucy and I both live in Paris).
- Me: Elizabeth loves coffee. So do I.
- Me: Harry doesn't play the piano and neither do I.
Present simple: use 'do / does' | Lucy likes coffee. So do I. Lucy doesn't like coffee. Neither do I. |
Present simple with 'be': use 'am / is / are' | John's at the office. So am I. John isn't at the office. Neither am I. |
Present continuous: use 'am / is / are' | Luke's going out tonight. So am I. Luke isn't going out tonight. Neither am I. |
Past Simple: use 'did' | Jill went to the cinema yesterday. So did I. Jill didn't go to the cinema yesterday. Neither did I. |
Past simple with 'be': use 'was / were' | She was at the library. So was I. She wasn't at the library. Neither was I. |
Present perfect: use 'have / has' | They've been to Colombia. So have I. They haven't been to Colombia. Neither have I. |
Future simple: use 'will' | Edward will be at the cafe later. So will I. Edward won't be at the cafe later. Neither will I. |
Modal verbs: repeat the modal verb | He would like a cup of tea. So would I. He wouldn't like a cup of tea. Neither would I. Emma can speak Russian. So can I. Emma can't speak Russian. Neither can I. |
What about 'too' and 'either'?
We can also use 'I do too' and 'I don't either', which mean the same as 'so do I' and 'neither do I':
- John: I hate mushrooms.
- Me: I do too (=I also hate mushrooms).
- Lucy: I don't live in London.
- Me: I don't either (=I also don't live in London).
- Present simple: John's at the office. I am too.
- Present continuous: Luke isn't going out tonight. I'm not either.
- Present perfect: They've been to Colombia. I have too.
- Modal verbs: Emma can't speak Russian. I can't either.
'Me too' and 'me neither':
We can also use 'me too' and 'me neither'. 'Me too' has the same meaning as 'so + auxiliary verb + I' and 'me neither' has the same meaning as 'neither + auxiliary verb + I'. 'Me too' and 'me neither' are very informal:
- John: I hate mushrooms.
- Me: Me too (=I also hate mushrooms).
- Lucy: I don't live in London.
- Me: Me neither (=I also don't live in London).
Subjects other than 'I':
Of course, we can also use these expressions to talk about what's true for other people, not just ourselves:
- John: I hate mushrooms.
- Me: So does Laura / Laura does too / Laura too.
- Lucy: I don't live in London.
- Me: Neither does David / David doesn't either / David neither.
- We live in London and so do they.
- Emma loves tennis. Jill and Laura do too.
- My parents don't come here often. Neither does Alex.
- She isn't French and neither is he.
- You don't like cold weather. Neither do we.
Try an exercise about using 'so do I' and 'neither do I' here