Expressing Agreement & Life Experience

20.07.2017 |

Episode #4 of the course English grammar by Kasia Sielicka, PhD

 

So, I saved Susan after her fall. Well, okay, she didn’t really need saving, but still, I felt like a hero.

Then we went to the company’s canteen to grab a bite to eat.

“What would you like?” I asked.

“I don’t know . . .” she said. “I like muffins.”

“Really? So do I!” I answered.

“Well, not all of them. I don’t like coconut muffins.”

“No way! Neither do I!” I exclaimed.

“I have tried them once, but . . .” She made an unhappy face.

“So have I!” I reacted.

“Look! They have blueberry muffins. I’ve never tried them!” she suggested.

“Neither have I,” I admitted.

“What a coincidence.” She smiled. I have never seen a prettier smile. And that was the moment I realized I was in love.

 

Expressing Agreement

a.

When you want to agree with someone, you can simply say “Me too!” But you can also do it differently:

“I like muffins.” “So do I.”

“I’ve tried them once.” “So have I.”

You start with “so”, then the auxiliary (be/have/do) or modal verb (can/could/may/will/etc.) and “I” (if it’s about you). More examples:

“I went to the cinema yesterday.” “So did I.”

“I can swim.” “So can I.”

“I will help him.” “So will I.

b.

When you want to agree with a negative sentence (with “not” in it), you can simply say, “Me neither.” Or in a more complicated way:

“I don’t like coconut muffins.” “Neither do I.” (= I also don’t like them)

“I’ve never tried blueberry muffins!” “Neither have I.” (= I also haven’t tried them)

You use “neither” + auxiliary + “I.” Please note that the word order here is different from normal sentences: not “I do,” but “do I,” etc. More examples:

“I didn’t know.” “Neither did I.”

“I won’t go.” “Neither will I.”

 

Present Perfect—Life Experience

I’ve tried coconut muffins once, but I didn’t like them.

I’ve never tried blueberry muffins.

Here, we use the Present Perfect tense because we talk about life experience. Susan doesn’t say when she tried coconut muffins. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that—in her whole life—she has done that, so now she knows what they taste like. In the second sentence, she talks about something she has never done in her life, so she doesn’t know what it’s like to eat blueberry muffins.

More examples:

I’ve been to Chinait’s a great country.

I’ve never been to Scotland but I would love to go.

I haven’t tried bungee jumping and I’m not going to. It’s too scary!

Tomorrow, you will find out what John has never done before—and Susan does it with him!

 

Recommended book

Real Grammar: Understand English. Clear and Simple. by Carl Eldridge

 

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