Affirmative and Negative Agreement

Affirmative and Negative Agreement

In everyday language use, particularly in spoken communication, we often find situations where one person performs an action and another person does the same afterward. To avoid unnecessary repetition of words, we employ specific words or formulas known as Affirmative and Negative Agreement.

Affirmative Agreement:

When stating that one person or thing does something and another does the same, we use the words "so" or "too." This helps maintain conciseness and clarity in communication.

1. Affirmative statement + and + subject + verb (be) + too: When the main clause includes a form of the verb "be," such as "am," "is," "are," "was," or "were," the same tense of the verb "be" is used in the simple statement that follows, along with "too." Examples:

• She is happy, and he is too.

• She is happy, and so is he.

1. Affirmative statement + and + subject + auxiliary + too: When the main clause includes a compound verb (auxiliary + verb), such as "will go," "should do," "has done," or "have written," the auxiliary of the main verb is used in the simple statement, followed by "too." Examples:

• They will work in the lab tomorrow, and you will too.

• They will work in the lab tomorrow, and so will you.

1. Affirmative statement + and + subject + do, does, or did + too: When any verb except "be" comes without any auxiliaries, the auxiliary "do," "does," or "did" is used in the simple statement. The tense must be the same, and the subject and verb must agree. Examples:

• Jane goes to school, and my sister does too.

• Jane goes to school, and so does my sister.

Negative Agreement:

For expressing negative agreement, we use "either" and "neither" in simple sentences, functioning similarly to "so" and "too" in affirmative sentences.

1. Negative sentence + and + subject + negative auxiliary + either: In negative statements, when one person or thing hasn't done something and another person or thing hasn't done the same, we use "either" after the subject and the negative auxiliary used in the sentence. Examples:

• I haven't seen the movie yet, and neither has Ben.

• I didn't see Mary this morning, and neither did John.

1. Negative sentence + and + neither + positive auxiliary + subject: Alternatively, we can use "neither" before the positive auxiliary used in the sentence. Examples:

• I haven't seen the movie yet, and Ben hasn't either.

• I didn't see Mary this morning, and John didn't either.

Exercise:

Exercise: Pronoun Agreement Practice

Part A: Affirmative Agreement

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate pronoun (so, too, or auxiliary + too) to complete the sentences in affirmative agreement.

1. Sarah loves to dance, and her sister loves [blank].

2. We are going to the beach, and they are going [blank].

3. Tom has finished his homework early, and his classmates have finished [blank].

4. The movie was fantastic, and my friends thought [blank] too.

5. She will visit her grandparents this weekend, and her cousins will visit [blank].

6. The team won the championship, and the coach was proud [blank].

7. I am excited about the trip, and my brother is excited [blank].

8. They have decided to buy a new car, and we have decided [blank].

9. The children are playing in the park, and their friends want to play [blank].

10. He is studying for the exam, and his classmates are studying [blank].

Part B: Negative Agreement

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate pronoun (either, neither, or negative auxiliary + either) to complete the sentences in negative agreement.

1. Lisa hasn't finished her assignment yet, and her friend hasn't finished [blank].

2. I didn't see the movie last night, and my sister didn't see [blank].

3. They won't be attending the party, and we won't be attending [blank].

4. Jane can't swim, and her brother can't swim [blank].

5. Peter hasn't traveled abroad, and his friends haven't traveled [blank].

6. We shouldn't eat junk food, and they shouldn't eat [blank].

7. Sara hasn't read the book, and her classmates haven't read [blank].

8. John didn't arrive on time, and his colleagues didn't arrive [blank].

9. The team couldn't score a goal, and the opponents couldn't score [blank].

10. She hasn't finished baking the cake, and her friend hasn't finished [blank].

Part C: Mixed Agreement

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate pronoun (so, too, either, neither, or auxiliary + too) to complete the sentences with mixed affirmative and negative agreement.

1. Mark doesn't like spicy food, and his sister doesn't like it [blank].

2. They will arrive early for the meeting, and we will arrive [blank].

3. The weather forecast predicts rain, and the meteorologist predicts [blank].

4. She can't speak French, and her brother can't speak [blank].

5. We haven't received our exam results yet, and they haven't received [blank].

6. I won't be able to attend the concert, and my friends won't be able to attend [blank].

7. The teacher hasn't explained the assignment clearly, and the students haven't understood [blank].

8. He didn't enjoy the movie, and his girlfriend didn't enjoy [blank].

9. They don't like to stay up late, and we don't like to stay up [blank].

10. She won't buy the expensive dress, and her friend won't buy [blank].

Answers:

1. so

2. too

3. too

4. so

5. too

6. too

7. too

8. too

9. too

10. too

11. either

12. either

13. either

14. either

15. either

16. either

17. either

18. neither

19. neither

20. either

21. too

22. too

23. so

24. either

25. neither

26. neither

27. neither

28. either

29. neither

30. either