too/either in negative sentences

[sitifan]

She sat silent, nor did I speak a word.
Source: Practical English Grammar, by Wu Pingzong.

Which of the paraphrases below is correct?
(A) She sat silent, and I didn't speak a word, too.
(B) She sat silent, and I didn't speak a word, either.

 

[5jj]

She sat silent, and I didn't speak a word, either.

that one is fine - and is more natural than the original.

 

[sitifan]

I have already lost my son, and I don't want to lose you, too. (My bold)
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/i-dont-want-to-lose-you-too-either.248036/#post-1307425
Can I use "either" instead of "too" in the above quotation?

 

[Tarheel]

I have already lost my son, and I don't want to lose you, too. (My bold)
Source: Selective English for Junior High School Students in Taiwan, Book I, page 52.
Can I use "either" instead of "too" in the above quotation?

No, "either" doesn't work there at all. You can't replace "too" with "either" in that sentence.

 

[sitifan]

She sat silent, and I didn't speak a word, either. (affirmative + negative, different subjects, either)
I have already lost my son, and I don't want to lose you, too. (affirmative + negative, same subject, too)
Are my explanations in the parentheses correct?

 

[Tarheel]

It looks good to me, but I haven't had my coffee yet.

 

[jutfrank]

She sat silent, and I didn't speak a word, either. (affirmative + negative, different subjects, either)
I have already lost my son, and I don't want to lose you, too. (affirmative + negative, same subject, too)
Are my explanations in the parentheses correct?

No, they're not good explanations. You have the wrong idea about what 'positive/negative' means.

She sat silent

That's not positive in this sentence, it's negative. Think about the meaning, which is that she didn't say anything, not about whether the clause contains the word 'not'.

and I didn't speak a word, either.

That's correct because it's also negative. The rule is:

negative + negative = use either
positive + positive = use too

 

[dunchee]

She sat silent

That's not positive in this sentence, it's negative. Think about the meaning, which is that she didn't say anything, not about whether the clause contains the word 'not'.

and I didn't speak a word, either.

That's correct because it's also negative. The rule is:

negative + negative = use either
positive + positive = use too

That's not entirely correct either. Observe:
She was silent, and he was silent, too.

It's not "negative(silent) + negative(silent) = use either".

I believe LDOCE explains it better:

either | meaning of either in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE

either meaning, definition, what is either: one or the other of two things or people...: Learn more.

www.ldoceonline.com

either 3 ... adverb
1 [in negatives] used to show that a negative statement is also true about another thing or person, or to add a different negative statement about something or someone

She sat silent, and I didn't speak a word, either.

"Either" is used to show that a negative statement("I didn't speak a word(=my being silent/not speaking)" is also("She sat silent(=her being silent/not speaking)") true about him.

 

[dunchee]

She sat silent, and I didn't speak a word, either. (affirmative + negative, different subjects, either)
I have already lost my son, and I don't want to lose you, too. (affirmative + negative, same subject, too)
Are my explanations in the parentheses correct?

No. The bottom line is it has nothing to do with the two subjects being the same or different.

 

[sitifan]

1. I have already lost my son, and I don't want to lose you, too. (affirmative + negative, same subject, too)
2. You should take a sweater, and don't forget to take an umbrella, too. (affirmative + negative, same subject, too)
3. She sat silent, and I didn't speak a word, either. (affirmative + negative, different subjects, either)
negative + negative = use either
positive + positive = use too
positive + negative = use ? (#1 & #2, same subject, use too) (#3, different subjects, use either)

 

[jutfrank]

That's not entirely correct either. Observe:
She was silent, and he was silent, too.

Yes, it is correct, but okay, yes, I didn't explain well.

She was silent, and he was silent too.

That's positive+ positive. You can tell that precisely from the use of the word 'too'. There's one, let's say, 'state-of-affairs that is the case', and it is the case for both people. In this respect, 'too' and either are used in the same way.

In these constructions, you sometimes can't tell from the first clause whether it's meant as positive or negative. You need following context to know.

She was silent

Is that positive or negative? Did something happen or not happen? We don't know.

She was silent, and he didn't speak, either. [negative + negative]
She was silent, and he kept quiet too. [positive + positive]

Now we know.

"Either" is used to show that a negative statement("I didn't speak a word(=my being silent/not speaking)" is also("She sat silent(=her being silent/not speaking)") true about him.

Yes, the clause before 'either' must be a negative statement, in the sense that it needs a negative word, but not necessarily 'not' or 'never'.

He's starving himself, and she's barely eating, either.

The idea is that you're saying that for both people it's not the case that they're eating properly. That's what 'negative' means with this.

 

[jutfrank]

1. I have already lost my son, and I don't want to lose you, too. (affirmative + negative, same subject, too)
2. You should take a sweater, and don't forget to take an umbrella, too. (affirmative + negative, same subject, too)

These are both different from what we've been discussing. They're not equivalent.

3. She sat silent, and I didn't speak a word, either. (affirmative + negative, different subjects, either)

Like I said, that's negative + negative. That no words were spoken applies to both she and I.

It makes no difference whether the subjects are different.