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A: I can't understand why my parents keep me from buying fast food.
B: Me, too. It's delicious.

Does B's answer sound natural?

In Korea, we usually teach that we should use 'me, neither' in a negative sentence, 'me, too' in a positive sentence. But I am not sure if this is always true.

I think that 'me, too' is a valid response in this particular case, but one of my students said that 'me, too' is grammatically incorrect, so it is unnatural.

Who is right?

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  • I would understand me too to be agreeing with the positive portion "my parents keep me from buying fast food" and me neither to be agreeing with the negative portion "I can't understand why ...". Though informally, "me too" (with or without the comma) is used just to indicate agreement and sympathy. May 10, 2012 at 9:22

4 Answers 4

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You might occasionally hear "me, too" in this situation, but only in casual conversation. Most native English speakers would say "me neither" -- saying "me too" might even suggest you've mis-heard the speaker in some cases, thinking they'd said "I can understand", rather than "I can't understand".

Aside: You will also hear some people say "me either", more commonly in American English.

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  • Or 'Nor I'. That's what I would have said before I moved to the US last year. I find that people say 'me neither' here more. Or is the meaning slightly different?
    – mvexel
    May 10, 2012 at 3:14
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No, to my understanding, "me too" would be an unusual response to most negative sentences.

We normally answer with a negative construction when we are confirming negative questions, and with a positive construction when we are in confirming positive questions. This can lead to cases that may seem illogical, but are nonetheless considered correct.

For example, let's say that Person A were to ask, "Aren't you coming?" Person B might respond, "No, I am not coming." This is, strictly speaking, a double negative, but is generally considered the correct form. I'm not sure why the language works this way -- it may be a holdover of negative concord, which was normal in Old and Middle English, but uncommon today.

Back to your question, let's say that Person A were to say, "I can't understand it." Person B, if expressing agreement, might respond, "Me neither." If this were a positive expression, Person A might say, "I understand it," to which Person B might respond, "Me too."

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  • I don't think your "No, I am not coming." example should be considered a double negative since the comma is being used to join two phrases, each of which can stand on their own if a period was used instead. May 9, 2012 at 14:47
  • The double-negative is in the sense of responding to, "Are you not coming?" with "No." You are correct about the two clauses within the second dialogue: the clause after the comma is a clarification, and can stand on its own. May 9, 2012 at 14:52
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I think "Me, neither," would sound more natural than "Me, too," in this situation, although it sounds a bit informal to me. My personal preference would be "Neither can I."

A: I can't understand why my parents keep me from buying fast food.

B: Neither can I. It's delicious.

You might also be interested in this discussion of whether "Me, neither," is incorrect.

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A: I can't understand why my parents keep me from buying fast food.
B: Me, too. It's delicious.

In the example (quoted above) both of "Me, neither" and "Me, too" sound natural to me (USA midwest) and both indicate assent with some thought expressed by speaker A.

It is not perfectly clear, however, if that agreement is with the "I can't understand" part – in which case "Me, neither" would be a more-logical response – or with the "my parents keep me from buying" part, in which case B would mean that his or her parents likewise ban buying fast food.

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