In English, there are words that link positive or negative phrases or ideas with the meaning ‘this is also true‘. They are: ‘also‘, ‘as well‘, ‘too‘, ‘so‘, ‘either‘ and ‘neither‘. Although, these words have the same meaning, they are used in different positions in a sentence and link either positive or negative statements.
These three words mean ‘in addition’. We use them in positive sentences:
The main difference is their position in a sentence.
‘Also’ is commonly used in writing, but is less common in speaking. It occupies different positions in a sentence.
‘Also’ is usually used:
— before the main verb (often between an auxiliary and a main verb)
— after the verb ‘to be‘
We can use ‘also’ in front position to emphasize what follows or to add a new point or topic:
‘Too’ has the same meaning as ‘also‘ adding an agreeing thought. It’s usually used at the end of the sentence:
‘Too’ can occur immediately after the subject, if it refers directly to the subject:
‘Too’ is especially common in responses to fixed expressions (such as wishes), and in responses consisting of a single object pronoun:
‘As well’ is very similar to ‘too‘ in terms of meaning and position in a sentence. It is used much more common in speaking than in writing, and is more common in speaking than ‘also’.
‘As well’ is used 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.)
Here’s a picture to summarize this information:
We can also use ‘so’ to mean ‘in addition’ in positive sentences:
(This means the same as ‘I like basketball and my brother likes basketball too’.)
Note: The structure here is [so + auxiliary verb + subject]. NOT: |
We use ‘so do I‘ to say that a positive sentence is also true for me: – I hate mushrooms. – So do I (=I also hate mushrooms). |
In spoken English, we can say:
I can swim.
To connect negative ideas adding an agreeing thought, we use the words ‘either‘ and ‘neither‘.
‘Either‘ has the same meaning as ‘too‘ but it’s used in negative sentences — ‘not… either’ — at the end of a sentence:
The word ‘neither‘ is used to express a negative thought but with a positive verb:
Compare ‘either‘ and ‘neither‘:
As with the previous example, we can express the same idea with ‘neither’. The word order is inverted after ‘neither’:
— We can also express the same idea with ‘neither… nor’:
— We can also use ‘neither’ like this:
(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: |
In spoken English, we can say:
I can’t play the guitar.
Be careful not to use two ‘negative words’ together: — She can’t sing and she can’t dance either. (NOT: |
– I can’t play the guitar. – I can’t either. (NOT: – Neither can I. (NOT: |
Here’s a good video from Papa English explaining how these words are used:
See also:
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