tamén / tampouco

Too and Neither

Level 2

Tamén means too or also and goes with positive ideas: Eu tamén (Me too). Tampouco means either or neither and goes with negative ideas: Eu tampouco (Me neither).

How It Works

Agreeing:

  • Positive: Vou ao cine. — Eu tamén. (I am going to the cinema. — Me too.)
  • Negative: Non teño fame. — Eu tampouco. (I am not hungry. — Me neither.)

With gustar and similar verbs: answer with a + pronoun: Gústame. — A min tamén. Non me gusta. — A min tampouco. See stressed pronouns for emphasis.

Where tampouco goes: before the verb, it needs no non: Eu tampouco o sei. After the verb, add non before the verb: Non o sei tampouco. This follows the pattern of double negation.

Pronoun position: tamén usually goes before the verb: Eu tamén falo inglés. There it pulls an unstressed pronoun in front of the verb: Tamén me gusta. See pronouns before the verb after certain adverbs. Tampouco, as a negative word, does the same: Tampouco o vin. See pronouns before the verb after negatives.

Nin … tampouco: after nin, tampouco adds one more negative item: Non sei cantar nin tampouco bailar (I cannot sing, and I cannot dance either).

Spelling: tampouco is written with ou, unlike Spanish tampoco.

Examples (6)

  1. Vou á festa. — Eu tamén.

    I am going to the party. — Me too.

    Word by Word: Go-I to-the party. — I also.

  2. Non teño fame. — Eu tampouco.

    I am not hungry. — Me neither.

    Word by Word: Not have-I hunger. — I neither.

  3. Ela tampouco vén.

    She is not coming either.

    Word by Word: She neither comes.

    Before the verb, tampouco replaces non.

  4. Ela non vén tampouco.

    She is not coming either.

    Word by Word: She not comes neither.

    After the verb, non is needed before the verb.

  5. Tamén me gusta o peixe.

    I like fish too.

    Word by Word: Also me pleases the fish.

    Tamén before the verb pulls me in front of it.

  6. Non me gusta o café. — A min tampouco.

    I do not like coffee. — Me neither.

    Word by Word: Not me pleases the coffee. — To me neither.

Common Mistakes

  • Agreeing with a negative statement using tamén non.

    Non teño fame. — Eu tamén non.
    Non teño fame. — Eu tampouco.

    To agree with a negative statement, use tampouco, which is already negative.

  • Answering a negative gustar sentence with tamén.

    Non me gusta. — A min tamén.
    Non me gusta. — A min tampouco.

    A min tamén would mean that you do like it. Agreeing with a negative needs tampouco.

  • Spelling tampouco the Spanish way.

    Eu tampoco.
    Eu tampouco.

    The Galician word has the diphthong ou: tampouco.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

tamén / tampoucoLevel 2Too and Neither

Learn This First

Tamén adds a matching positive statement and tampouco a matching negative one.

Words in This Pattern