Affirmative Agreement

 When indicating that one person or thing does something and then adding that another does the same, use the word so or too. To avoid needless repetition of words from the affirmative statement, use the conjunction and, followed by a simple statement using so or too. The order of this statement will depend on whether so or too is used.

1.      When a form of the verb be is used in the main clause, the same tense of the verb be is used in the simple statement that follows.

Affirmative statement (be) + and + subject + verb (be) + too

Affirmative statement (be) + so + verb (be) + subject

Examples:

I am happy, and you are too

I am happy, and so are you

2.      When a compound verb (auxiliary + verb), for example, will go, should do, has done, have written, must examine, etc., occurs in the main clause, the auxiliary of the main verb is used in the simple statement, and the subject and verb must agree.

Affirmative statement + and + subject + auxiliary only + too

(Compound verb)

Affirmative statement + and + so + auxiliary only + subject

(Compound verb)

Examples:

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

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

3.      When any verb except be appears without any auxiliaries in the main clause, the auxiliary do, does or did is used in the simple statement. The subject and verb must agree and the tense must be the same.

Affirmative statement + and + subject + do, does or did + too

(Single verb except be)

Affirmative statement + and + so + do, does or did + subject

(Single verb except be)

Examples:

Jane goes to that school, and my sister does too

Jane goes to that school, and so does my sister

Additional examples:

John went to the mountains on his vacation, and we did too

John went to the mountains on his vacation, and so did we

I will be in New Mexico in August, and they will too

I will be in New Mexico in August, and so will they

He has seen her plays, and the girls have too

He has seen her plays, and so have the girls

We are going to the movies tonight, and Suzy is too

We are going to the movies tonight, and so does Suzy

She will wear a costume to the party, and we will too.

She will wear a costume to the party, and so will we

Velazquez was a famous painter, and Rubens was too

Velazquez was a famous painter, and so was Rubens

Exercise

1.      Rose likes to fly, and her brother..................too

2.      They will leave at noon, and I……………..too

3.      He Has an early appointment, and so………………I

4.      She has already written her composition, and so………...her friends

5.      Their plane is arriving at nine o’clock, and so……………..mine

6.      I should go grocery shopping this afternoon, and so……………my neighbor

7.      We like to swim in the pool, and they…………..too

8.      Our Spanish teacher loves to travels, and so……………..we

9.      He has lived in Mexico for five years, and you…………too

10.  I must write them a letter, and she………………too

Based on: M. A. Pyle and M. E. Munoz (1985). Cliffs TOEFL Preparation Guide. Singapore: John Willey and Sons

The Verb Need

The verb need is followed by the infinitive only if a living thing is the subject. If a thing (an inanimate object) is the subject of this verb, the verb is followed by a gerund or the verb be plus the past participle

Living thing as subject + [verb in infinitive]

Examples:

John and his brother need to paint the house

My friend needs to learn Spanish

He will need to drive alone tonight

Things as subject + verb + ing

Things as subject + to be + (verb in past participle)

Examples:

The grass needs cutting

            Or

The grass needs to be cut

The television needs repairing

Or

The television needs to be repaired

The composition needs rewriting

Or

The composition needs to be rewritten

In Need of

It is also possible to use the expression in need of in some cases instead of using need as a verb. Because need is not a verb in this case, it must be preceded by verb be. Studying the following rule.

Subject + be + in need of + noun

Examples:

Jill is in need of money (Jill needs money)

The roof is in need of repairing (the roof needs to be repaired)

The organization is in need of volunteers ( the organization needs volunteers)

Exercise

1. It’s to hot and my hair needs……………(cut)
2. The flowers need to be…………..(water)
3. James needs………….(see) a doctor soon.
4. Mary will need……….(make) a new dress for the party.
5. His car needs…………(tune)
6. You will need………….(be) here last night
7. the squeaky door needs to be………..(oil).
8. I need………….(go) shopping this afternoon.
9. They need………….(study) harder for that test.
10. The house needs to be………….(paint) soon