too, also, as well. What's the difference?

F

fortiss

New Member
Dutch/Turkish - The Netherlands
Hi there,

Although I have been visiting this forum for a while, this is going to be my first qestions.

What is the significant difference amongst 'too', 'also' and 'as well'? Moreover, are there other words expressing the 'additional'.

Thanks in advance.

Murat
 
    • Too and as well are almost identical in use.

    I'm going to the cinema. Are you going too. Are you going as well.

    Are you going also is said sometimes, but sounds wrong to me.

    All three are used in sentences that mean the same, but also is used differently
    I'm going to the cinema.
    I'm going to the restaurant too.
    I'm going to the restaurant as well.
    - but -
    I'm also going to the restaurant.
     
    Thanks for your quick answer. Let me explain my thoughts.

    'as well' and 'too' are being used to express that another person (I in this case) is going as well.
    'also' is being used to express that I am, for example, going to the party as well as to the restaurant.
    Am I correct?
     
    Hi, fortiss, and welcome. Explaining your thoughts in your first post is preferred. I'm confused, now. Does this
    fortiss said:
    'as well' and 'too' are being used to express that another person (I in this case) is going as well.
    'also' is being used to express that I am, for example, going to the party as well as to the restaurant.
    Click to expand...
    mean that you want examples of "I'm going with someone else" or "I'm going two places" or are you are trying to describe panjandrum's examples?
     
    fortiss said:
    Thanks for your quick answer. Let me explain my thoughts.

    'as well' and 'too' are being used to express that another person (I in this case) is going as well.
    'also' is being used to express that I am, for example, going to the party as well as to the restaurant.
    Am I correct?
    Click to expand...
    That is almost true. All three may be used to express that I am going to the party as well as the restaurant.
    The following sentences all mean the same.
    I'm going to the party; I'm going to the restaurant too.
    I'm going to the party; I'm going to the restaurant as well.
    I'm going to the party; I'm also going to the restaurant.
    They mean that I am going to the party and to the restaurant.
    Same subject, different objects.

    Compare with these sentences, which also all mean the same.
    I'm going to the party. Billy's going to the party too.
    I'm going to the party. Billy's going to the party as well.
    I'm going to the party. Billy's also going to the party.
    They mean that Billy and I are going to the party
    Different subjects, same object.
     
    Hi kelly,

    Thanks for your suggestions. Panj.'s examples are quite clear.
    I sent my second message, because he wrote that 'also' is not as common 'as too' and 'as well' in his examples.

    Thank u all.
     
    Really? Putting "also" at the end of the sentence is wrong? The OED cites some examples with "also" at the end. I always thought it sounded a bit stilted, but it never sounded flat out wrong.

    Z.
     
    Isotta: I guess you are referring to my post up above:)
    I also guess that my but it sounds wrong to me means the same as your sounded a bit stilted. I didn't mean grammatically wrong (a concept that I always have trouble with).
     
    Phew.

    I think it sounds stilted in that it sounds affected rather than careless. I remember a friend being nonplussed when her boyfriend replied, "I love you also."

    But "also" at the end can sound nice in a quirky way if done in the right voice, maybe with a lilt on the "also."
     
    This is probably extraneous, but I had to point it out to a Russian coworker who is trying to learn English. "Too" does mean also, but remember - it also means "excessively." "Too expensive," "too far," "too much," etc., etc.
     
    I agree with drei_lengua that these two words are interchangeable as far as meaning goes, but "too" sounds more informal than "also," at least in AE.
     
    But there's also a difference (or: But there's a difference, too,) in where they can appear in a sentence. In the other thread, Panjandrum's examples show that 'also' doesn't like to come at the end of the sentence, which is probably the preferred position of 'too'.
    - I'm going to the party; I'm going to the restaurant too.
    - I'm going to the party; I'm also going to the restaurant.

    They can both come in the middle of the sentence, but they don't necessarily mean the same thing:
    - I, too, like beer (= 'other people like beer, and so do I')
    - I also like beer. (= ambiguous: either 'I like beer as well as wine', or 'other people like beer, and so do I', possibly depending on intonation)

    'Too' doesn't like to come at the beginning of the sentence (unless it means 'excessively')
    Also, I think we should change the title.
    I think, too, that we should change the title.
    Too, I think we should change the title.

    I can't quite work out the rules, but this gives you an idea. 'Too' seems to have a gravitational pull towards the end of the sentence. It seems to qualify what precedes it. 'Also' has a gravitational pull away from the end of the sentence (not necessarily to the very beginning, but towards the beginning).

    (I'm still perplexed, though: why can we say 'I also like beer' but not 'I like also beer', when we would say 'There's also a difference' but not 'There also is a difference' (at least in British English). :confused: )
     
    Aupick said:
    .

    (I'm still perplexed, though: why can we say 'I also like beer' but not 'I like also beer', when we would say 'There's also a difference' but not 'There also is a difference' (at least in British English). :confused: )
    Click to expand...

    Because it's linking, I think.

    There, too, is a difference.
    There also is a difference.
    There is a difference, too.
    There's also a difference.

    I think the intensifier can modify "there" and "difference" because it's linking, whereas "I like also beer" would modify beer? If I heard this in broken English, I would think the person was referring to liking beer as well as another drink.

    But I also think it is possible to say, "I like beer also," especially to indicate liking beer in addition to another drink, rather than to express personal inclusion.

    Maybe that's a start?
     
    1)I also like reading.
    2)I like reading too.
    3)I like reading as well.
    Do these senteces mean: other people love reading and so do I; or I love reading as well writing.
    Sorry, if this question has been asked.
    Thanks in advance.
     
    just interested:

    I have noticed an uptick in the usage of the term "as well" in the USA

    I am a 54 year old male, and to be honest, it was a rarely used term in casual speech until recently.

    I've never used it myself.

    Any ideas why?
     
    just interested:

    I have noticed an uptick in the usage of the term "as well" in the USA

    I am a 54 year old male, and to be honest, it was a rarely used term in casual speech until recently.

    I've never used it myself.

    Any ideas why?
    Click to expand...

    I have noticed that as well.
     
    simonaj said:
    1)I also like reading.
    2)I like reading too.
    3)I like reading as well.
    Do these senteces mean: other people love reading and so do I; or I love reading as well writing.
    Sorry, if this question has been asked.
    Thanks in advance.
    Click to expand...

    All three can mean both "other people love reading and so do I," and "I love reading as well writing,"

    I'd say the main differences are...

    1) This one sounds more formal than the other two.
    2) This is the informal American way of saying it (I assume it's used in the U.K. too?) and in the U.S. you would hear this one the most.
    3) This one is used more in the U.K. than in America; however, as someone else already said, it's becoming more popular in the U.S.

    I hope this helped. :D
     
    panjandrum said:
    That is almost true. All three may be used to express that I am going to the party as well as the restaurant.
    The following sentences all mean the same.
    I'm going to the party; I'm going to the restaurant too.
    I'm going to the party; I'm going to the restaurant as well.
    I'm going to the party; I'm also going to the restaurant.
    They mean that I am going to the party and to the restaurant.
    Same subject, different objects.

    Compare with these sentences, which also all mean the same.
    I'm going to the party. Billy's going to the party too.
    I'm going to the party. Billy's going to the party as well.
    I'm going to the party. Billy's also going to the party.
    They mean that Billy and I are going to the party
    Different subjects, same object.
    Click to expand...

    Dear sir , i have some opinion below :
    I'm going to the party; I'm also going to the restaurant.
    I'm going to the party; I'm going to the restaurant as well. <-- If i have same subject , i like to use " not only ... but also " , " as well as " , " both ... and " in a sentence .

    And different subject i will use too, as well , also . Besides i use " So " or " Neither " for diferrent . Therefore we not confused among too , as well , also .

    Ex : I can swim .So can Billy
    i can not swim . Neither can Billy

    I try to translate your sentences with my mind below

    I'm going to the party. Billy's going to the party too.
    -> i'm going to the party .So is Billy

    ( do you think whether i am wrong or not ? )

    Thank you for your attention .
     
    I think Lietnhuca that you made very good remarks concerning different ways of expressing an agreeing thought. They also address the original poster’s, Fortiss’s question: "Moreover, are there other words expressing the 'additional'." (I think that by “additional” he meant “agreeing”.)

    I like most this remark: “If i have same subject , i like to use " not only ... but also " , " as well as " , " both ... and " in a sentence .” It reminds of what L.G. Alexander in his “New Concept English” advised us to do. But I think that these constructions are used in written rather than in spoken English.
     
    My English teacher, who comes from UK (or USA, I don't know yet), one day said "...she did it also." And I was like: "Why??! All I have ever learnt is a lie!!" but I didn't ask any questions...
     
    Hello,

    I would like to know, according to this subject, where "also" should be placed in a modal construction like:

    "Our schoolmate is doing his homework.
    He gaves us some pencils so that we can also write and do our homework / so that we can write and do our homework too / as well".

    Is it correct to write "we can also write" or "we also can write" in that case?
     
    The most natural place for adverbs is usually between an auxiliary (the first auxiliary) and the next verb, so 'can also write' is the most likely. In 'we also can write', 'also' is attached to 'we' - we also, not just him. This is still the meaning you intend, but it's a strong way of expressing it. You would usually say 'we can also write', and use stress or intonation to make clear what 'also' applies to:

    so that we can also write (not just him)
    so that we can also write (not just read)
     
    As far as I know "too" and "also" are not usually used in negative sentences. Do you agree? For instance

    This is incorrect, too/also. (BAD)
     
    Ivan_I said:
    As far as I know "too" and "also" are not usually used in negative sentences. Do you agree? For instance

    This is incorrect, too/also. (BAD)
    Click to expand...
    No.

    Your first answer is incorrect. Your second answer is also incorrect. Your third answer is incorrect, too. And your fourth answer is incorrect as well.
     
    Last edited:
    RM1(SS) said:
    No.

    Your first answer is incorrect. Your second answer is also incorrect. Your third answer is incorrect, too. And your fourth answer is incorrect as well.
    Click to expand...
    I am sorry. What answers are you talking about? I have posted a question and not a single answer.
     
    Ivan_I said:
    I am sorry. What answers are you talking about? I have posted a question and not a single answer.
    Click to expand...
    I'm not RM1(SS), but I think those sentences are intended to be examples of sentences that use 'too' and 'also' with the negative word 'incorrect'. :)

    They don't refer to anyone's actual answers.

    (I agree that too and also can be used in those sentences.)
     
    Thank you Cagey.
    What about this site?

    http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/also.html

    It says that:

    "Too" is used in positive sentences to add an agreeing thought. It has the same meaning as "also," but its placement within the sentence is different.
    Examples:

    • Jane speaks French. Sam speaks French too.

    "Also" is used in positive sentences to add an agreeing thought.
    Examples:

    • Jane speaks French. Sam also speaks French.

    But you say that "This is incorrect, too/also." is OK.

    Sounds like a contradiction to me.Or am I missing the point?
     
    Cagey said:
    I'm not RM1(SS), but I think those sentences are intended to be examples of sentences that use 'too' and 'also' with the negative word 'incorrect'. :)
    Click to expand...

    Correct. I suppose I should have used quotation marks (BrE inverted commas) fore and aft - my apologies.

    Ivan_I said:
    Thank you Cagey.
    What about this site?

    http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/also.html

    It says that:

    "Too" is used in positive sentences to add an agreeing thought. It has the same meaning as "also," but its placement within the sentence is different.
    Examples:

    • Jane speaks French. Sam speaks French too.

    "Also" is used in positive sentences to add an agreeing thought.
    Examples:

    • Jane speaks French. Sam also speaks French.

    But you say that "This is incorrect, too/also." is OK.

    Sounds like a contradiction to me.Or am I missing the point?
    Click to expand...
    "This is incorrect" is a positive statement. An example with negative statements would be "This is not correct; this is not correct either" - but you could still say, correctly, "This is not correct; this is also not correct."
     
    For purposes of the grammatical rule, a negative sentence is one that contains words like 'no' or 'not', as in RM1(SS)'s example sentences: "This is not correct; this is also not correct."
     
    How about in negative questions, can I use "too"?
    for example,

    1 Didn't you take a shower too?
     
    'Too' works in your example. :)

    (It is unclear whether the question asks whether you took a shower in addition to someone else, or whether you did something else and took a shower as well. However, the grammar works, and the context in which the question is asked would probably make the meaning clear.)
     
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