2

Which statement is grammatically correct?

A: I am uninterested.

B: Me too./ So am I.

A: I am uninterested.

B: I am uninterested either./ Neither am I.

Community
  • 1
Bright Polyglot
  • 441
  • Why do you think the first (positive) positive would not do? The problem is with the use of the negative word in the first sentence. The response would be with an assertive "So am I", not "Neither am I" – Kris May 01 '13 at 13:29
  • People can hardly motivate themselves now, can they? Although the statement included "can" yet it is incorrect to say "can't they" as a tag question in this instance. positive-positive, I thought the un/in might play the same role of "hardly"... – Bright Polyglot May 01 '13 at 13:45
  • Please never just ask “Which is correct?” It shows no effort on your part, and gives us nothing to go on. As the Help Center says in its “How to ask a good question” section: “Have you thoroughly searched for an answer before asking your question? Sharing your research helps everyone. Tell us what you found and why it didn’t meet your needs. This demonstrates that you’ve taken the time to try to help yourself, it saves us from reiterating obvious answers, and above all, it helps you get a more specific and relevant answer!” Thank you. – tchrist Jul 04 '14 at 02:13

2 Answers2

3

They are all equally grammatical.

But I think what you are asking about is whether uninterested is treated as a negative polarity word, and so attracts the negative polarity word neither in a reply.

The answer is that it is not so treated, so Me too or So am I is the idiomatic answer.

But there is no other meaning that can be ascribed to Me neither in that context, so it would be understood, but not usual. (Me either is not idiomatic for me in any context).

Armen Ծիրունյան
  • 17,751
Colin Fine
  • 77,173
  • Rather than the pragmatics, the OP seems to be asking about pedantic grammar. Me neither would be scorned by strict grammarians, I suppose. – Kris May 02 '13 at 06:25
2

It’s the first group. “I am X” always takes a positive response. The un- part doesn’t change the verb into a negative.

tchrist
  • 134,759
  • 1
    People can hardly motivate themselves now, can they? Although the statement included "can" yet it is incorrect to say "can't they" as a tag question in this instance. positive-positive, I thought the un/in might play the same role of "hardly"... – Bright Polyglot May 01 '13 at 13:43
  • 2
    It might, but it doesn't. Not interested has negative polarity; uninterested doesn't. – Colin Fine May 01 '13 at 13:52