到底該回答me, either,還是me, neither呢? 對很多人而言,這是個頗為頭疼的問題。
假設一位美國友人對你說:I don't like the new album relased by Taylor Swift. 碰巧你也不怎麼喜歡Swift的新專輯,你該怎樣回應呢,是:me, either,還是me, neither?
這個問題似乎不只困擾我們國人,老美貌似也有點稀裡糊塗,從Yahoo Answers上眾說紛紜的答案可見一斑。不幸的是,Wikipedia這次也沒能給我們直白的答案。所以我只好Bing一下了。
首先看看Yahoo Answers上被選為最佳的回覆(best answer)吧,回答者bruhaha解釋道:
Short answer -- in everyday informal speech "Me, neither" is often the best choice.(簡言之,在日常的非正式交談中,「Me, neither」通常是最好的選擇)
It is true that for FORMAL usage, you would be expected to say something like "Neither do I" or "Nor I".(如果在正式的場合,回答「Neither do I」或者「Nor I」可能更恰當)
But for INFORMAL/COLLOQUIAL --everyday!-- spoken English, those forms do not always need to be used, and may even be discouraged as "stuffy".(但對於非正式/口語化、日常的口語,其實不提倡過於拘泥形式,那樣會顯得很累贅)
這個回答進一步在權威線上詞典thefreedictionary.com得到印證,查詢me neither,該網站給出的解釋是:Me neither(spoken): I also would not.例句:"I'd never go there alone at night." "Me neither." 並給了一個簡短的使用說明(Usage notes):used to agree with a negative statement(用於贊同否定陳述).如果你試圖查詢me either,詞典會提示:Phrase not found in the Dictionary and Encyclopedia. (本詞典及百科中均無此短語)
一位在日本教英語的加拿大本地老師在名為Ask the English Teacher的網站上吐槽並求助:I am Canadian and I started teaching English in Japan recently. At the beginning, I kept thinking that teaching English is a breeze. However, I now come to realize that my grammar actually sucks! ... What is the difference between ME EITHER and ME NEITHER? Is Me either bad English?
該網站的博主給出了如下回覆:The expression should be "Me neither"—for example: "I don't like driving in heavy traffic." "Me neither." It's the same as "Neither do I," but it's colloquial, not grammatical. "Me either" doesn't make sense. 你明白了嗎?一句話,me neither可視為Neither do I的簡化版,但一般用於口語中。
最後,想提醒一下大家,如果你非要用either,上段所例子中的提問也可以這麼回答:I don't, either.