In my last entry, I wrote about how to say 「私も」 in English in the affirmative (肯定的). This time, I want to teach how to say it when responding to a negative (否定的) statement. For example:
(A) I don't like natto.
(B) Me neither. / I don't either. / Neither do I.
Just like "Me too" in the affirmative, "Me neither" can be used anytime that A's comment is negative and B has the same opinion as A (BはAと同じ意見です). Since this is very convenient (便利), "Me neither" is often used by native speakers. Please remember that "don't" and "neither" are both negative. Therefore (だから), they cannot be used together in a sentence because the result would be a double negative (二重否定).
Like "I do too" and "So do I" in the affirmative, when the verb is in the past tense (過去形) in a negative statement, the responses "I don't either" and "Neither do I" must also be in the past tense. Maybe the following example is true for some of you:
(A) I didn't like natto when I was a child.
(B) Me neither. / I didn't either. / Neither did I.
Also like last entry's affirmative examples, sometimes the verb in B's response must be changed to match the verb in A's sentence. One common example is when "can" is used in the negative:
(A) I can't stand (我慢できない) the smell of natto.
(B) Me neither. / I can't either. / Neither can I.
See you at E-Style,
(A) I didn't like natto when I was a child.
(B) Me neither. / I didn't either. / Neither did I.
Also like last entry's affirmative examples, sometimes the verb in B's response must be changed to match the verb in A's sentence. One common example is when "can" is used in the negative:
(A) I can't stand (我慢できない) the smell of natto.
(B) Me neither. / I can't either. / Neither can I.
As I told my elementary-level students, the best way to master 「私も」in English is through practice. I hope that this final example becomes true for all of you:
(A) I can say 「私も」in English.
(B) Me too. / I can too. / So can I.
See you at E-Style,
Alan
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