When it comes to expressing agreement or disagreement in English, there are specific grammatical structures that we employ. These structures vary depending on whether the statement we're responding to is positive or negative.
To agree with a positive statement
Let's start with how to express agreement with a positive statement. In this case, we use the word 'so' followed by an auxiliary or modal verb and then the pronoun.
Example:
Person 1: "I like tea without sugar"
Person 2: "So do I" (so + auxiliary/modal verb + pronoun)
This response succinctly conveys that your preference aligns with the speaker's.
To agree with a negative statement
On the other hand, when we want to express agreement with a negative statement, we use 'nor' or 'neither' followed by an auxiliary or modal verb and then the pronoun.
Example:
Person 1: "I don't like tea with sugar"
Person 2: "Nor do I" or "Neither do I" (so + auxiliary/modal verb + pronoun)
Both responses above indicate that you share the speaker's dislike for sugary tea.
To disagree with a positive statement
Now, let's look at how to express disagreement. If you want to disagree with a positive statement, you would use the pronoun followed by an auxiliary or modal verb and then 'not' or the contraction "-n't".
Example:
Person 1: " I like tea without sugar "
Person 2: " I don't" (pronoun + auxiliary/modal verb + not (-n't))
This response clearly communicates that your preference differs from the speaker's.
To disagree with a negative statement
Lastly, when it comes to disagreeing with a negative statement, we use the pronoun followed by an auxiliary or modal verb.
Example:
Person 1: "I don't like tea with sugar"
Person 2: "I do” (pronoun + auxiliary/modal verb)
This response indicates that, contrary to the speaker's preference, you do like tea with sugar.
In conclusion, these sentence structures help express agreement or disagreement clearly for positive and negative statements.