Agreeing & Disagreeing with Statements

Form

A short answer of this kind copies the auxiliary verb from the statement you are replying to and puts it in front of the subject.

Open with So to agree with a positive statement and with Neither (or Nor) to agree with a negative one: “I'm tired.” — “So am I.”; “I don't drive.” — “Neither do I.” If the statement has no auxiliary of its own, borrow do, does or did to match its tense ('I live in Boston.' — 'So do I.'; 'I went to the beach.' — 'So did I.'); otherwise keep the one it already uses — am, is, was, have, had, can, will, would. To disagree, drop So and Neither and simply flip that same verb: “I love classical music.” — “I don't.”; “I'm not ready.” — “Actually, I am.”

When to Use It

1. 1

   Use So + auxiliary + subject to agree with a positive statement

   My brother has already finished the report. — So has Sarah.

2. 2

   Use Neither + auxiliary + subject to agree with a negative statement, and leave out not, because neither is negative already

   She can't swim. — Neither can her brother.

3. 3

   Use Nor in place of Neither for the same agreement in more formal or written English

   I never check email after nine at night. — Nor does anyone on my team.

4. 4

   Use Me too and Me neither in casual speech, where no auxiliary is needed at all

   I don't like cold weather. — Me neither.

5. 5

   Disagree by flipping the same auxiliary, with no So or Neither in front of it

   I'm cold. — I'm not. I'm actually warm in here.

6. 6

   Treat a statement built on hardly, rarely, seldom, few or never as negative, even with no not in it, and agree with Neither or Nor

   I'm rarely impressed by fancy restaurants. — Neither am I.

Common Mistakes

• Keeping normal word order: write So do I, not So I do — the auxiliary has to jump in front of the subject.
• Agreeing with a negative using So: after “I didn't sleep well” write Neither did I, not So did I — So only follows a positive statement.
• Adding not after neither: write Neither do I, not Neither don't I — neither has already made the answer negative.
• Mismatching the auxiliary: after “I can speak French” write So can I, not So do I — the answer copies the verb the statement used.
• Using Me too after a negative: after “I can't stand traffic” write Me neither, not Me too.