"'me either" or "me neither?"
When you're just talking to someone, do you say me neither or me either?
other? | 0 | |
Neither | 148 | |
Either | 37 | |
Other (Add a comment) | 6 |
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When you're just talking to someone, do you say me neither or me either?
other? | 0 | |
Neither | 148 | |
Either | 37 | |
Other (Add a comment) | 6 |
http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/english/2007/02/more_about_eith.html
..."Either" means one or the other, and "neither" means not one and not the other!
But you say "either" when you've used a negative expression in the sentence, and you say "neither" when you've used a positive expression:
"I don't like greasy foods," said Crawford.
"I don't either," said Joe.
"Neither do I," said Jill.
So your sentence is correct—a negative (you don't) followed by "either."
Next, Maria asks:
I would like to know if it's possible to use neither ... nor before a preposition, for example:
I'm interested neither in the destruction nor in the attack.
Yes, you can use it. But it's shorter to say: I'm interested in neither the destruction nor the attack.
Both are correct, so it's up to the writer to decide which sentence sounds better.
Finally, Jessiey asks:
If you have someone saying , "me either" , is that correct, or is it more correct to add the 'n' and say, "me neither". I understand that "me neither" sounds better, but when writing, I see people dropping the 'N' and writing "me either". Which is more correct?
Both are "non-standard"—everyone understands these expressions but they're not accepted as part of standard English. It's interesting that "me either" is widely used, because most North Americans are uncomfortable when one word ends with a vowel and the next word begins with the same vowel.
(The British are even more uncomfortable—ask them to say, "America and Canada are big countries," and they'll say, "Americker and Canader are big countries.")
So as non-standard expressions, both are equally acceptable in casual conversation, but if your English teacher happens to say, "I don't like greasy food," you'd be wise to say, "Neither do I."
It's one of those things English speakers generally use correctly without ever thinking about how they're using it. Either means "one or the other" and neither means "not one and not the other". On the face of it, they're opposites, but in usage terms, not always.
In your example, "me neither" means "you say not you and I say not me too". The clumsiness of my explanation shows why people say "me neither" as shorthand.
"Me either" doesn't make a lot of sense unless you preface it with the modifier "not". Saying "not me either" is generally accepted as meaning "me neither" even though, strictly, it doesn't have to mean that.
I use them both when appropriate. But then again, everyone is different.
When you say "me neither" your only making 1 grammatical mistake, when you say "me either" your making 2.
Never heard anyone say "me either". Is this an American / British thing?
How do you pronounce them?
If you say "me neither" do you pronounce it as, "me nEYEther" or "me KNEEther"?
Same goes for "me either". "me EYEther" and "me EEther" are very different.
In proper English it's 'neither'. Uneducated people say 'me either' - no offense. It's like people who get their 'there's mixed up
i use either because i just bot into z habit of it and when i hear neither im like arggg because im soo used to saying either
lol, I think they were saying "an apricot" is nicer to say than "a apricot". In the same way, "me neither" is easier than "me either".
We add the "n" after the definite article "a" in order to create vowel-consonant clusters or syllables. Saying "a apricot" feels clumsy because the throat has to work hard to make it come out whereas when saying "an apricot" the work is done by the tip of the tongue. Try it!