Too and Either for Children
Too marks positive agreement, while either marks negative agreement. Too and Either: A Practical Guide for Children teaches the contrast through short rules, examples, and practice. Compare “I like this game, too” with “I don’t like that game, either.” Beginners learn the contrast; older learners track word order, auxiliary verbs, and alternate meanings. The goal: accurate everyday English, not memorised terms.
What Children Need to Understand First
Both words extend an idea to another person or thing. After “I enjoy drawing,” another child can answer, “I enjoy drawing, too.” After “I don’t enjoy long films,” the matching reply is “I don’t enjoy long films, either.”
The difference is positive versus negative. Use too after a positive idea and either after a negative one. In Too and Either: A Practical Guide for Children, “positive” means no negative form such as not, don’t, isn’t, or can’t.
Teach agreement at the sentence end first. After children master that pattern, explain two alternate meanings: too can mean “more than needed,” while either can present a choice.
How the Two Agreement Patterns Work
Place too near the end of an affirmative sentence: “We speak Arabic at home, too.” A comma often separates an afterthought from the statement, though short informal sentences may omit it.
Place either at the end of a negative sentence: “We don’t have class on Sunday, either.” The negative word appears earlier. Either cannot create negation alone, so “We have class either” does not express negative agreement.
Too and Either: A Practical Guide for Children offers one check: find the negative word before choosing the ending. No negative points to too; not or a negative contraction points to either.
The first two rows cover agreement. The last two distinguish excess and choice from the target pattern.
Building Correct Sentences Step by Step
First, identify an affirmative or negative starting idea. “The lesson starts at five” is affirmative, so write “Our music class starts at five, too.” “The lesson doesn’t start at six” is negative, so its matching sentence takes either.
Next, build the required verb form. A child might say, “I not play chess either” while focusing on the ending. Form the negative first—“I don’t play chess”—then add either: “I don’t play chess, either.”
Finally, read the sentence aloud. Too and Either: A Practical Guide for Children combines sound and print. Pair “She can swim, too” with “She can’t dive, either.” The shared verb highlights the change.
Common Mistakes and Clear Corrections
A frequent error places too after a negative statement: “I don’t want juice, too.” Standard English uses “I don’t want juice, either.” If juice joins a longer list of unwanted items, context must establish that meaning.
Another error adds two negative markers: “I don’t like it neither.” Use “I don’t like it either.” “Me neither” works as a separate informal response, but beginners should practise the full sentence first.
Children may confuse agreement with degree. In “The bag is too heavy,” too means excessively heavy, not agreement. Too and Either: A Practical Guide for Children asks learners to classify each meaning: matching ideas, excess, or choice.
Practice with Short, Useful Sentences
Begin with complete sentences before quick spoken replies. Ask your child to find the negative word, choose too or either, and read the result aloud.
Choose Too or Either
1. I like picture books, ___.
2. We don’t study on Saturday, ___.
3. My sister can count in French, ___.
4. This tablet isn’t working, ___.
5. They want to play outside, ___.
Answers: 1. too; 2. either; 3. too; 4. either; 5. too.
In the next task, the child builds the negative before choosing the final word. The exercise tests target words and helping verbs.
Make the Second Sentence Agree
1. I can ride a bike. My cousin ___.
2. We don’t eat lunch at school. Our neighbours’ children ___.
3. The blue pen is new. The green pen ___.
4. I haven’t finished the book. My brother ___.
Possible answers: 1. can, too; 2. don’t, either; 3. is, too; 4. hasn’t, either.
Accept any subject or noun that preserves correct grammar. Learners must recognise positive and negative agreement, not copy a fixed sentence.
Activities for Different Ages
For school-age kids, use toys, food pictures, or actions. Say, “The bear can jump,” then invite “The rabbit can jump, too.” Model a negative pair: “The bear can’t fly. The rabbit can’t fly, either.” Keep turns brief.
For school-age kids, sort sentence cards into positive and negative groups. Add too to the positive group and either to the negative group. Draw examples from home languages, sports, meals, school routines, and family life.
For school-age kids, add corrections and meaning checks. Ask whether “The test is too long” expresses agreement or excess, and whether “You can choose either book” expresses agreement or choice. This extends Too and Either: A Practical Guide for Children while retaining the positive-versus-negative rule.
- Try two “too” sentences with children aged six to eight.
- Practice three “either” replies after reading one familiar picture book together.
- Use colored cards to sort four positive and four negative examples.
- Ask children aged nine to twelve to correct five mixed sentences aloud.
- Repeat the game for ten minutes and praise every accurate response.
When a word has several meanings or pronunciations, Cambridge Dictionary is a useful check before turning it into child-friendly examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can “Too” and “Either” Both Mean “Also”?
Yes. When expressing agreement, both connect matching ideas. Sentence polarity determines the word. Choose too after an affirmative statement: “Your child enjoys songs, too.” Choose either after a negative statement: “Your child doesn’t enjoy long worksheets, either.”
Where Should My Child Put “Too” and “Either”?
For agreement, both words normally appear at or near the sentence end. Use “She reads comics, too” and “She doesn’t read magazines, either.” Advanced English permits other positions, but final placement gives young learners a dependable starting pattern.
Is “Me Either” Correct?
“Me either” occurs in informal speech in some English varieties, but “Me neither” is the more widely accepted short reply to a negative statement. “I don’t either” gives learners a full answer. Too and Either: A Practical Guide for Children starts with complete sentences before informal replies.
Does “Either” Always Belong in a Negative Sentence?
No. Either can identify one of two choices: “Your child can use either pencil.” Negative agreement applies when either means “also not”: “Your child doesn’t need a ruler, either.” Check whether the sentence matches a negative idea or presents options.
How Can I Tell Whether My Child Understands the Rule?
Give four new sentences instead of requesting a memorised rule: two affirmative and two negative. Your child should choose the correct word, build any required negative verb, and explain: “There is a negative, so I used either.”
A short one-to-one lesson can show what level and pace fit your child — book a trial English lesson.
Stay updated on our latest tips and resources by following us on Instagram LearnLink.
