"me too"
May 29th, 2004 by dorik
This question is about the correctness of “me, too” as it relates to formal speech or its likelihood of being torn apart by a grammar fanatic.
Examples:
a: “I want to go to the store.”
b: “Me too.”
a: “I have ten fingers.”
b: “Me too.”
Is “me, too” gramatiically correct, or should it be something like, “I, too,” “I, also,” or “I do as well?”
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We (i.e. the creators of Pain in The English) developed a series of iPhone apps to teach preschool kids how to recognize letters and words. (My wife developed the characters and I did the coding.) Our own 4-year old daughter has been enjoying them. They are now available on Apple's App Store. You can search for "bitskis" on your iPhone, or visit the official website at bitskis.com.
If you have kids and own an iPhone, please check it out. It's $2.
In the cases above cited, I would say, "I do, too."
Of course, politeness would dictate that you not, arbitrarily and uninvited, include yourself in an activity, but this is not an English grammar rule.
(speedwell is snarky after staying up all night helping her fellow with his term paper on Polykleitos and the Pythagorean influences on classical Greek sculpture.)
"Me too" is perfectly grammatical, and you shouldn’t pay attention to so-called "grammatical fanatics". It’s similar to answering the question "who is it?" with "it’s me." You wouldn’t say, "it’s I" unless you wanted to continue with "(it’s I), the King of Monarch-land" or something like that.
"I, too" is not correct. "I, also" is also incorrect. For formal situations, "me too" might be a little casual. The following are more formal:
I do as well
I do too
(some people might say "me, also" is correct. It’s marginal for me)
If you want to avoid the awkwardness of worrying about "me too", both your examples could be easily solved by saying "So do I".
a: "I want to go to the store."
b: "So do I."
a: "I have ten fingers."
b: "So do I."