Friday, June 20, 2008

Also, As Well, Too, Either In Negative Clauses


‘He can take some comfort in the fact that others did not fare well too’ (Sunday Times, 1 June 2008).


‘Oh boy, no break for tots, too?’ (Sunday Times, 1 June 2008).

Interestingly, both mistakes appeared on facing pages in the same edition of the Sunday Times. Make it did not fare well either and no break for tots either.

According to Michael Swan’s Practical English Usage, ‘After mentioning a negative idea or fact, we can add another negative point by using not … either’. The example he gives is:

You can’t have an apple, and you can’t have an orange either (not *you can’t have an orange also/as well/too).

No comments:

Post a Comment

Recent Comments