[Vocabulary] Me too vs You too

[aficionado]

I know that we can't say "me too" as an answer to "Nice to meet you!" but can we say "me too" as an answer to "Glad to meet you!" ?

Are the following expressions more appropriate and common than "you too?"

* My pleasure.
* The pleasure is mine.
* Likewise.
* Same here.

 

[Tarheel]

I know that we can't say "me too" as an answer to "Nice to meet you!" but can we can we say "me too" as an answer to "Glad to meet you!" ?

Please don't.

 

[Tarheel]

Are the following expressions more appropriate and common than "you too?"

* My pleasure.
* The pleasure is mine.
* Likewise.
* Same here.

Use any of them.

 

[aficionado]

Please don't.

It's confusing for me because I've read on the Net that "Nice to meet you" is short for "It is nice to meet you". "You too" is a short way of saying "It is nice to meet you too".
"I'm glad to meet you" should be responded with "me too" because it is a short way of saying "Me too, I'm glad to meet you". However it does imply a slight confusion so it might be better to say it in full: "I'm glad to meet you too".

Is there a clear-cut answer to this?

 

[Tarheel]

I think it's better to say "I'm glad to meet you too."

 

[TheParser]

I know that we can't say "me too" as an answer to "Nice to meet you!" but can we say "me too" as an answer to "Glad to meet you!" ?

NOT A TEACHER

Hello, Aficionado:

I was interested in your use of the word "can't."

I have frequently noticed Americans in person or in movies or in books answer with "Me too." It might not be especially elegant English, but I think that it is perfectly acceptable in casual conversation where brevity rules.

I went to the "Books" section of Google (where thousands of books have been digitalized for us). Among the examples of this usage was the following:

"And what's your name, honey?" Lori said.
"Sam, what's yours?"
"My name is Lori. It's nice to meet you."
"Me too."

Source: Mike Frost, the novel Homo Luminous (2011), page 100.

 

[Tarheel]

I have frequently noticed Americans in person or in movies or in books say "Me too".

That may be true, but I don't have to like it.

 

[emsr2d2]

The following works in BrE.

Bob: Nice to meet you.
Alan: You too.

Alan's words are short for "It's nice to meet you too". For me "Me too" doesn't work.

 

[jutfrank]

For me "Me too" doesn't work.

Me too.

 

[Tarheel]

The following works in BrE.

Bob: Nice to meet you.
Alan: You too.

Alan's words are short for "It's nice to meet you too". For me "Me too" doesn't work.

These work.

Likewise
Same here

 

[TheParser]

I have frequently noticed Americans in person or in movies or in books say "Me too".

That may be true, but I don't have to like it.

NOT A TEACHER

Hello, Tarheel:

I thought that you'd like these words that I read for the first time this morning. They were written by Clarence Barnhart (1900 - 1993), who edited many American dictionaries.

a. "Every person has his own style of English; there is no English language. There's your English language, XYZ's English language, and they overlap, and it is the overlapping that I try to get at."

P.S. I hasten to remind my fellow learners of English that today "his" is not accepted as a genderless pronoun. One would say either "his/her" or "their" in that quoted sentence.

Source: The Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992), page 106.

 

[jutfrank]

P.S. I hasten to remind my fellow learners of English that today "his" is not accepted as a genderless pronoun.

That may be the case for many, but not nearly for all.

As Barnhart astutely recognises, there is no one English language.

 

[NamelessKing]

What about "ditto"?

 

[jutfrank]

No. Do not say ditto.

 

[TheParser]

That may be the case for many, but not nearly for all.

As Barnhart astutely recognises, there is no one English language.

NOT A TEACHER


Hello, Jutfrank:

If a member here uses "his" as a genderless pronoun, am I right that it is very probable that a moderator would suggest using "his/her" or "their"?

Being 82 years old, I just naturally say "his," but I am now becoming used to "his/her." I absolutely refuse, however, to say or write "their," although I acknowledge that it seems to have become widespread as the genderless pronoun.

 

[jutfrank]

Hi, The Parser

If a member here uses "his" as a genderless pronoun, am I right that it is very probable that a moderator would suggest using "his/her" or "their"?

I'd say that's pretty likely, yes. There are some (perhaps not as many as you might think) who would take issue with that usage. Personally, I wouldn't, since like you I sometimes use it myself.

One of the issues there is that if you want to avoid using genderless he/him/his at all costs, you are forced to avoid certain other words too. Utterances like Man has reached his peak cannot be rephrased to Man has reached their peak, or Man has reached his/her peak, for instance, and Man has reached its peak really doesn't work for me.

Being 82 years old, I just naturally say "his," but I am now becoming used to "his/her." I absolutely refuse, however, to say or write "their," although I acknowledge that it seems to have become widespread as the genderless pronoun.

I don't particularly like their very much, either. I don't mind his/her at all, in the right place.

Thanks for the Barnhart quote, by the way. I love it.

 

[GoesStation]

Utterances like Man has reached his peak cannot be rephrased to Man has reached their peak, or Man has reached his/her peak, for instance, and Man has reached its peak really doesn't work for me.

Me neither, but Humankind has reached its peak expresses the idea perfectly.

 

[aficionado]

NOT A TEACHER

Hello, Aficionado:

I was interested in your use of the word "can't."

I have frequently noticed Americans in person or in movies or in books answer with "Me too." It might not be especially elegant English, but I think that it is perfectly acceptable in casual conversation where brevity rules.

I went to the "Books" section of Google (where thousands of books have been digitalized for us). Among the examples of this usage was the following:

"And what's your name, honey?" Lori said.
"Sam, what's yours?"
"My name is Lori. It's nice to meet you."
"Me too."

Source: Mike Frost, the novel Homo Luminous (2011), page 100.

Thank you for your answer but I don't think it's appropriate to use "me too" in an English text-book after all the thing I've read about the topic. If we think it's OK to use such expressions in a text-book, the next thing will be using "is" with "you" in a textbook used nationwide.

 

[Tarheel]

Thank you for your answer, but I don't think it's appropriate to use "me too" in an English text-book after everything I've read about the topic. If we think it's OK to use such expressions in a text-book, next we'll be using "is" with "you" in a textbook used nationwide.

Say what?
:?:

 

[Rover_KE]

Being 82 years old, I just naturally say "his," but I am now becoming used to "his/her." I absolutely refuse, however, to say or write "their," although I acknowledge that it seems to have become widespread as the genderless pronoun.

Fair comment. I respect your right to say whatever you want, but as a relative stripling of 81, I've been using 'their' in this way for decades; it gets easier over time.

I'm also a proponent of the reflexive pronoun 'themself', which logically follows the use of 'they/them/their' as gender-neutral pronouns.

The standard reflexive form corresponding to they and them is themselves, as in they can do it themselves. The singular form themself, first recorded in the 14th century, has re-emerged in recent years corresponding to the singular gender-neutral use of they, as in this is the first step in helping someone to help themself.

(Oxford)