Adverbs: also, as well, too, so, either, neither
Also, as well, too
These three words mean ‘in addition’. We use them in positive sentences:
- I like basketball and I also like football.
- I like basketball and I like football too.
- I like basketball and I like football as well.
The main difference is their position in a sentence:
‘Also’ usually comes before the main verb or after the verb ‘to be’.
‘Too’ and ‘as well’ are usually at the end of the sentence.
‘Too’ and ‘as well’ are common in spoken and informal British English. (‘As well’ sounds formal or old-fashioned in American English.)
So
We can also use ‘so’ to mean ‘in addition’ in positive sentences:
- I like basketball and so does my brother.
(This means the same as ‘I like basketball and my brother likes basketball too’.)
| Note: The structure here is ‘so + auxiliary verb + subject’.
NOT: |
In spoken English, we can say:
I can swim.
- I can swim too.
- I can too.
- Me too.
- So can I.
Not either, neither & neither… nor
– In negative sentences, we can use ‘not… either’:
- My sister doesn’t like basketball and she doesn’t like football either.
(NOT: She doesn’t like basketball and she doesn’t like basketball too.)
- She can’t dance and she can’t sing either.
– We can express the same idea with ‘neither’. The word order is inverted after ‘neither’:
- She doesn’t like basketball and neither does she like football.
- She can’t dance and neither can she sing.
– We can also express the same idea with ‘neither… nor’:
- She likes neither basketball nor football.
- She can neither dance nor sing.
– We can also use ‘neither’ like this:
- My sister doesn’t like basketball and neither does my mother.
(This means the same as ‘My sister doesn’t like basketball and my mother doesn’t like basketball either’.)
(NOT: I like basketball and so likes my brother.)
| Note: The structure here is ‘neither + auxiliary verb + subject’.
NOT: She doesn’t like basketball and neither likes my mother. |
In spoken English, we can say:
I can’t play the guitar.
- I can’t play the guitar either.
- I can’t either.
- Me either. (US English)
- Me neither. (UK English)
- Neither can I.
Be careful not to use two ‘negative words’ together:
(NOT:
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