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I very often hear this said by Americans...

(first person) "I don't like him/her/it."
(second person) "Me either!"

Correct English is "Me neither!" to agree with a negative statement.

'either' gives a choice, as in "Either chicken or beef for dinner"

So has the meaning totally changed in American English, or is this just a frequent error?

2006-09-08 21:19:47 · 11 answers · asked by rose_lin_uk 1 in Society & Culture Languages

11 answers

It's a reflection of the lower quality of American English. The first speaker is using a *subject* pronoun (I/we/they/him/her), so it the second speaker should speak in the same context and *not* use an object pronoun (me/us/them/him/her).

I'm Canadian born to British parents and I would say "nor do I," though most Canadians will say "neither do I".

Either/or is used for positive statements, and neither/nor for negatives. Many Americans I meet do not even know the word "nor", nevermind how to use it (excepting those educated in computers and electronics).

Sadly, American usage is becoming more prevalent due to the success of its industry. Thankfully, Commonwealth nations still tend to speak in Queen's English.

2006-09-08 21:55:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1 5

It's a frequent error just like when people (unlike you I'm not going to single out Americans as so many people LOVE to do on this site) make the incorrect statement "I could care less." Actually, if you could care less, that isn't making much of a statement about how little you care. The phrase is "I couldn't care less." There are too many examples of incorrect grammar to list, but let's not single out countries, shall we?

2006-09-09 06:28:09 · answer #2 · answered by Iknowsomestuff 4 · 1 0

If Americans used it that way all the time it would not be used "wrongly". It would be a regular feature of the American dialects. But in some varieties of American English this usage is normal, therefore it is not "wrong" in that variety. Get off your arrogant British high horse

2006-09-09 00:13:35 · answer #3 · answered by Taivo 7 · 5 1

I think it's just a regular error. Personally I never say, "Me either", it sounds wrong.

2006-09-09 08:09:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

I don't often hear people make that mistake. I think confusion regarding the use of who and whom is more frequent.

2006-09-09 03:02:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

I talk with lots of murcans and have never once heard this.
So no, not ALL Americans do this :D

Im sure some do, but not all.

2006-09-08 21:29:58 · answer #6 · answered by robster 2 · 1 0

You are correct...

"Either" goes with "or" (in a positive sense).

"Neither" goes with "nor" (in a negative sense).

To use your examples:

In response to, ""I don't like him/her/it," one should respond, "Me NEITHER."

In response to, "Chicken or beef for dinner," one should respond, "EITHER." (Although, in this case, one could say "Chicken!" or "Beef!" or "Both!" and still be linguistically correct. :o))

2006-09-08 21:44:09 · answer #7 · answered by cleopatra2u 3 · 1 0

Just one of those common errors.

2006-09-08 21:27:10 · answer #8 · answered by Wizard's Living Grimoire 3 · 1 0

It is actually correct to use EITHER of them interchangeably

2006-09-08 21:26:45 · answer #9 · answered by kingofnarniaforever 4 · 0 1

neither. or either. yeah you knew that was coming, didn't you?

2006-09-08 21:24:21 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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