We use ‘so’ and ‘neither’ to show that we agree with someone or something. They both mean ‘also’.
‘I think you should wait before taking the job and so does John.’ (John also has the same opinion)
‘I don’t think you should take the job now and neither does John.’ (John also has the same opinion)
‘Neither’ is used instead of ‘so’ if the agreement is negative.
‘I think this film is amazing.’ ‘So do I.’
‘I haven’t understood a word of what he’s saying.’ ‘Don’t worry, neither have I.’
The auxiliary verb with ‘so’ or ‘neither’ in these short answers is the same as the sentence. If a modal verb is used then it is also used in the short answer. If there is no auxiliary ‘do’ is used.
‘I think I should go.’ ‘So should I.’
‘I’m exhausted.’ ‘So am I.’
‘I can’t see anything from here.’ ‘Neither can I.’
‘I’ll ask him if he wants to come.’ ‘So will I.’
‘I love Jazz.’ ‘So do I.’
So is used with certain verbs instead of a clause.
‘Is David here?’ ‘I hope so.’
‘The game will be cancelled because of this rain.’ ‘I suppose so.’
But with a negative we say:
‘Is Sally here?’ ‘I hope not.’ NOT ‘I don’t hope so.’
So is used with adjectives:
It’s so hot today.
You look so young in this photo.
Such is used with nouns:
It’s such a hot day today.
This is such an old photo.
Usually ‘so’ and ‘such’ are used with ‘that’ clauses:
It was so hot that I decided to go straight to the beach.
He had such a good time there that he went back to France several times.
Choose the right answer for these sentences:
Lesson by Tristan, English teacher at EC Malta English school
