Neither, Either

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Additions with so, neither/nor, but Have a look at the following sentences:  My father can sing very well, and so can my mother.  My father can sing very well, but my aunt can’t.  My father doesn’t like oysters, and neither/nor does my mother.  My father doesn’t like oysters, but I do.

We are going to have a closer look at the underlined structures. “So” and “neither/nor” express agreement with the previous sentence, “but” expresses disagreement. There are several possibilities, depending on whether you start from a positive or a negative sentence. All possibilities are shown in these schemes:

Additions with so, neither/nor, but

STARTING FROM A POSITIVE SENTENCE: You start from a positive sentence eg. My father can sing very well You want to add another positive sentence (= “agreement”) → (and) so + auxiliary + subject eg. and so can my mother. You want to add a negative sentence (= “disagreement”) → but + subject + negative auxiliary eg. but my aunt can’t.


STARTING FROM A NEGATIVE SENTENCE You start from a negative sentence eg. My father doesn’t like oysters You want to add another negative sentence (= “agreement”) → (and) neither/nor + auxiliary + subject eg. and neither does my mother. You want to add a positive sentence (= “disagreement”) → but + subject + auxiliary eg. but I do.

Additions with so, neither/nor, but

You always need to use the auxiliary from the first sentence:  I can swim, and so can my brother.  You shouldn’t talk so much, and neither should your friend. If there is no auxiliary in the first sentence, use do/does/did.  My sister liked to swim, and so did I.

Practice: Rewrite the following sentences, as shown in the example. Example:

I went to Paris last week. My boyfriend went there too. → I went to Paris last week, and so did my boyfriend.

1. I don’t like the weather in Belgium. My best friend doesn’t like it either. ................................................................................................................................................ 2. I have never been to the theatre. My sister has often been there. ................................................................................................................................................ 3. I often eat mushrooms. You never eat them. ................................................................................................................................................


Practice: Make additions to the following sentences, using so, neither/nor or but. Example:

Anna is reading a book. (her husband) → pos : and so is her husband. → neg : but her husband isn’t.

1. I can play the violin. (my little brother) pos : ....................................................................................................................................... neg : ....................................................................................................................................... 2. My uncle doesn’t live in Brussels. (my grandparents) neg : ....................................................................................................................................... pos : ....................................................................................................................................... 3. Last Saturday, we watched a movie. (they) pos : ....................................................................................................................................... neg : ....................................................................................................................................... 4. They are going to be in time. (we) pos : ....................................................................................................................................... neg: ........................................................................................................................................

Additions with so, neither/nor, but

5. Linda bought new clothes. (Sarah) pos : ....................................................................................................................................... neg : .......................................................................................................................................


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