Unit 1: How to Agree and Disagree

Competence How to Agree and Disagree Topic Conspiracy Theories: What if they were True? Greatest Conspiracy Theories in History Vocabulary Mainstream media, far fetched, bizarre, to be biased, hoax, conspiracy theory, to foster, allegedly, to deceive, to threaten, to orchestrate, to tamper, footage, crosshairs, to empower, skeptics, to turn a blind eye, to launch, means, to claim, rogue, widespread, to cover up, flaw, sightings, tabloids, plot, pursue, plagiarism. Content To agree and disagree. Main and supporting ideas.

Sources: http://thebizzare.com/cool/greatest-conspiracy-theories-in-history/ http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/uploadedFiles/news/Conspiracy%20Theories.pdf http://platum2.unimet.edu.ve/platum http://www.englishpage.com http://www.esl-classroom.com http://wtf.thebizzare.com/bizarre/greatest-conspiracy-theories-in-history/ http://thebizzare.com/cool/greatest-conspiracy-theories-in-history Focus on Grammar. High Intermediate. New York: Longman.

Unit I How to Agree and Disagree Reading 1: Conspiracy Theories and Hoaxes Vocabulary before the reading.
To deceive: implies imposing a false idea or belief that causes ignorance, bewilderment, or helplessness Mainstream media: a prevailing current or direction of activity or influence as the Media A. Fill in the blanks with a word from the box. Far-fetched: unlikely to be true, highly improbable, very difficult to believe. 1. He tried ____________________ me about the cost of the car, but I did not believe him.

2. Some people defend conspiracy theories no matter what. They ____________________. 3. No way! That Osama bin Ladem is working in a Midwest Mc Donalds is too __________________.
eccentric, involving sensational contrasts or incongruities. Bizarre: strikingly out of the ordinary, odd, extravagant, or

4. According to ___________________, the country is characterized by ongoing conflicts and continuous

aggression. To be biased: prejudiced, favoring one person or side over

5. The Anti-eating Face Mask, a new and novel device for preventing the consumption of food by an another.
individual, is a ____________________ invention!

Reading 1: Conspiracy Theories and Hoaxes

By Alicia Arriz November, 2007

Can you be easily deceived? Currently, the whole world seems rife with conspiracy theories. The idea that the world population is manipulated by a powerful group of elitists may not be farfetched. The terms Conspiracy theory and hoax seem to refer to big lies, to diversions of the truth. A conspiracy is a secret plot to carry out some deed against a rival by a few insiders. Unless someone from the inside leaks the plans, or the plot is somehow discovered, by definition, conspiracies are not known until after the fact. Hence, they are vulnerable as soon as they are exposed. A conspiracy theory is a perception of a possible conspiracy. It may be either true or false. A conspiracy theory remains a theory until it is exposed and proven factual. A hoax, on the other hand, is just an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. It has been claimed that major events in history have been orchestrated by conspirators who manipulate political happenings from behind the scenes. Some examples of these beliefs are: that AIDS was created to rid the world of the Black race; the recent tsunami in

Asia was caused by Israel and the U.S. setting off a nuclear bomb on the ocean floor; the Iraq War was concocted at the presidents Crawford Ranch to help his oil buddies; the U.S. government is tampering the weather by shifting the jet streams in Alaska with secret giant jet fans. These theories are not just being fostered by the unwashed masses, but often by well-placed, highly-educated men and women. A common example of a popular conspiracy theory is the Moon Landing. 40 years after the first moon landing, we still hear that putting a man on the moon in 1969 has been the greatest hoax ever orchestrated by the American Government in order to win the space war against the Soviet Union. In other words, the entire human landing program was carefully faked from start to finish. Although NASA has debunked each one of the arguments that support this bizarre allegation, there are still web pages and documentaries loaded with interesting pieces of evidence that uphold the moon hoax theory. We have also heard Thierry Meyssan, author of the The Big Lie, who challenges the official version of the September 11th terrorist attacks to the United States. Meyssans claims are developed in the TV program The Fifth Estate: Conspiracy Theories broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 2004. According to Meyssan, the American Airlines Flight 77 did not hit the U.S. Pentagon in Washington proved by the fact that the size of the hole left in the Pentagon was too small for that plane. Instead, he concludes that the impact was caused by something much smaller that was fired by the American government itself. Furthermore, the attacks on the World Trade Center are thought to have been controlled by radio beacons from the ground. Behind this September 11th hoax, would be George W. Bush who is blamed to have been moved by the desire to find a reason to put a hand on the Middle East oil. (http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/conspiracytheories/index.html). More recently, it is said that the swine flu was created in the laboratory by the same producers of the antiviral medication to treat it, Tamiflu. American politicians as Ronald Rumfield have been linked to the pharmaceutical company that owns the patent of the medication and have been accused of capitalizing on a virus that just isn't that much of a threat. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), conspiracy theories involve wild allegations, depend on questionable characters and seem like a waste of time. But the CBC also admits that many of these theories are based, at least in part, on legitimate questions. Moreover, for The New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, bizarre conspiracy theories have played a disturbingly large role in the current American political discourse. Why the increase in conspiracy theories? One writer remarked that conspiracies are the new opiate of the masses (Mary Jacobs, writer for the Dallas Morning News). There are many reasons why multitudes resort to conspiracy theory:

1. The Internet. There are literally hundreds of sites given wholly to explaining world events by a powerful
conspiracy (or conspiracies). 2. End times Speculation. Some Christians from the Protestant Millennial tradition see history winding down and the emergence of a one-world government combined with a one-world religion ultimately ruled by The Antichrist, and thus make predicting events based on their conspiracy theories the focal point of their ministries. 3. The Complexity of the Times. Epidemics, weather events, wars, catastrophes, political assassinations, and terrorism are seen nightly on TV. When people live in constant fear, conspiracy theories seem to make the complex and seemingly unexplainable world events more manageable. 4. The Distrust of Modern Government. As the government grows larger and intrudes into every area of our lives, its easy to attribute this growth and increase in power to conspiracy.

5. Hollywood Movies and Contemporary Fiction. Some recent movies that contribute to endless
speculations about conspiracies are: JFK, Conspiracy, Fahrenheit 911, The Skulls, and The Firm, and The Matrix. The recent best-selling novel, The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, and his forth-coming book on Masonry are according to his claim, based on the truth. But, why are we so sceptical about them? We may be trained to believe only what mainstream media says and fanatically close our eyes to other alternatives. That we call them conspiracy theories, however, points to the fact that we are probably biased.

READING ACTIVITY 1. What is the main idea or thesis statement in Conspiracy Theories and Hoaxes?
______________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

2. What conspiracy theories are mentioned in the article?

__________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

Find out what the Bilderberg Group is, its members and where they have met in the last 3 years.

Suggested sites:
Secret Societies: The Bilderberg Group http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDUMEEl_ajM&feature=related p: Secret Bilderberg Agenda 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S12iLi_teXk&feature=related Bilderberg Conspiracy Theories Continue to Haunt Obama: http://streetknowledge.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/bilderberg-conspiracy-theories-continue-to-haunt-obama/ '9/11 Conspiracy Theories Ridiculous' - Al Qaeda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_OIXfkXEj0

Bilderberg Group: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Chronology
1700s-1850s European-inspired conspiracy theories evolve into American style conspiracism. 1776 Bavarian law professor founds Illuminism movement, a secret society devoted to creating a world ruled by reason instead of clerics. 1798 Anti-Illuminati propaganda reaches U.S., sparking fear that Thomas Jefferson seeks to destroy religion. 1830s Anti-Catholic conspiracy theory flourishes. 1840s-1850s Slave Power conspiracists see a federal takeover by slaveholding interests. 1940s-1950s World War II and Cold War prompt fear of takeover of U.S. 1944 Chicago Tribune alleges President Franklin D. Roosevelt provoked 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. 1945-46 Congressional hearings conclude Roosevelt didnt purposely prompt Pearl Harbor attack. 1951 Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R Wis., falsely accuses secretaries of state and defense of being Soviet agents. 1958 John Birch Society founded to promote theory that Illuminati conspirators have penetrated government. 1960s-1970s Kennedy assassination opens era of disbelief in government explanations. 1962 Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman secretly proposes faked Cuban attacks to create pretext for U.S. military intervention in Cuba. 1963 Assassination of President John F. Kennedy provokes conspiracy theories still in circulation today. 1972 Revelations that government doctors injected black farmers with syphilis the Tuskegee Experiment fuel later suspicion that government invented AIDS. 1975 Church Committee produces evidence of secret drug tests on U.S. citizens. 1980s-1990s Conspiracy theories based on actual and imagined government misdeeds build a following. 1982 CIA ignores reports that Nicaraguan guerrillas are trafficking drugs sparking conspiracy theory on the origin of crack cocaine epidemic. 1986 Iran-Contra scandal reveals secret U.S. plan to sell arms to Iran. 1987 Soviet-bloc scientists spread rumor that U.S. military created AIDS. 1991 Televangelist Pat Robertson warns of global takeover plot. 1993 Suicide of White House aide Vincent Foster prompts theories that President Bill Clinton and/or his wife, Hillary, had Foster killed. . . . Branch Davidian confrontation near Waco, Texas, spurs growth of conspiracist- influenced militia movement. 1997 Militia movement leader Linda Thompson calls black helicopters a frequent element of conspiracy theories part of a CIA-sponsored government takeover plot. 2000s Sept. 11 attacks involve President George W. Bush in conspiracy theories; later theories target President Barack Obama. 2004 Truther conspiracy theorists demand investigation of governments deliberate failure to prevent 9/11 attacks. 2005 Popular Mechanics debunks conspiracy theories of the attacks. 2007 Poll shows 22 percent of respondents believe Bush knew about attack. 2008 Presidential campaign spurs theories that Obama is Muslim. . . . Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obamas former minister, endorses conspiracy theory on AIDS origin. 2009 Birther activists take their arguments to federal court. . . Obama appointee Van Jones resigns after disclosure he signed truther petition. . . . Conspiracists help spur resistance to flu shots.

Reading 2: Greatest Conspiracy Theories in History

Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? That, of course is a loaded question. We could have asked why some people refuse to believe any conspiracy theories. Recent research suggests that whether you believe in conspiracy theories or not has much more to do with who you are more than the objective facts. For instance, the richer you are and the whiter you are in the USA the less likely you are to believe in a conspiracy theory. Conversely, poor people especially if they are Hispanic Americans and African Americans tend to believe. In other words those who are empowered (rich and white folk) like to believe that the powerful act openly and fairly, those who are powerless believe that power is used covertly and unfairly. Of course, the figures vary from conspiracy to conspiracy. 20% of African Americans believe that the US Administration created AIDS to limit the population growth of the black minority. Virtually, no white people believe this. On the other hand, in one poll 90% of US citizens - i.e. the majority of whites, blacks and Hispanics believed that JFK had been killed in a conspiracy. Conspiracy theories are also generational. Americans aged over 36 believe most strongly in the JFK conspiracy, while the 20 -35 age bracket contains most of those Americans who believe in a 9/11 conspiracy. Presumably most of the ten million downloads of Loose Change, an Internet expos documentary about 9/11, were made by these young Americans. Below you will find some of the most believed conspiracy theories in the US and worldwide:

Global warming is a hoax Some climate change doubters believe that man-made global warming is a conspiracy designed to soften up the worlds population into allowing higher taxation, controls on lifestyle and a more authoritarian government. These skeptics cite a fall in global temperatures since last year and a leveling off in the rise in temperature since 1998 as evidence.

The Aids virus was created in a laboratory Based on the theories of Dr. William Campbell Douglass, many believe that HIV was genetically engineered in 1974 by the World Health Organization. Dr. Douglass believed that it was a cold-blooded attempt to create a killer virus which was then used in a successful experiment in Africa. Others have claimed that it was created by the CIA or the KGB as a means to reduce world population.

Pan Am Flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan Americans third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from Heathrow to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. On December 21, 1988, the aircraft flying this route a Boeing 747 was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground. The remains landed around Lockerbie in southern Scotland. A popular theory for which no evidence has been produced suggests that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had set up a protected drug route from Europe to the United States allegedly called Operation Korea which allowed Syrian drug dealers to ship heroin to the US using Pan Am flights. The CIA allegedly protected the suitcases containing the drugs and made sure they were not searched. On the day of the bombing, terrorists exchanged suitcases: one with drugs for one with a bomb. Another version of this theory is that the CIA knew in advance this exchange would take place, but let it happen anyway, because the protected drug route was a rogue operation, and the American intelligence officers on the flight had found out about it, and were on their way to Washington to tell their superiors.

Pearl Harbor was allowed to happen Theorists believe that President Franklin Roosevelt provoked the Japanese attack on the US naval base in Hawaii in December 1942, knew about it in advance and covered up his failure to warn his fleet commanders. He apparently needed the attack to provoke Hitler into declaring war on the US because the American public and Congress were overwhelmingly against entering the war in Europe. Theorists believe that the US was warned by the governments of Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, Peru, Korea and the Soviet Union that a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was coming and that; furthermore, the Americans had intercepted and broken all the important Japanese codes in the run up to the attack.

Elvis Presley faked his own death A persistent belief is that the King did not die in 1977. Many fans persist in claiming he is still alive, that he went into hiding for various reasons. This claim is allegedly backed up by thousands of so-called sightings. The main reason given in support of the belief that Presley faked his death is that, on his grave, his middle name Aron is spelt as Aaron. But Aaron is actually the genuine middle name for Presley. Apparently, either Presley or his parents tried to change the name to Aron to make it more similar to Presleys stillborn twin,

Jesse Garon Presley. Two tabloid newspapers ran articles covering the continuing life of Presley after his death, in great detail, including a broken leg from a motorcycle accident, all the way up to his purported real death in the mid 1990s.

Diana, Princess of Wales, was murdered Despite an official inquiry that found no evidence of a plot by MI6 or any other entity to murder the princess and Dodi Fayed in 1997, fevered speculation continues. The theory is that rogue elements in the British secret service decided that Dianas relationship with Fayed was a threat to the monarchy and, therefore, to the British state. A plot was hatched in which a white Fiat Uno carrying agents was sent to blind and disorientate driver Henri Paul as he sped through the Paris underpass pursued by photographers. Later, Pauls blood was switched with a sample of somebody who had drunk a lot of alcohol. The trouble with the theory? Not a shred of evidence exists to support it.

The Jesus conspiracy This theory launched a blockbusting novel (The Da Vinci Code), a film of the same name and a plagiarism battle in the courts. Those who believe in this and they seem to number in their millions think that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, had one or more children, and that those children or their descendants emigrated to southern France. Once there, they intermarried with the noble families that would eventually become the Merovingian dynasty, whose special claim to the throne of France is championed today by a secret society called the Priory of Sion.

Nasa faked the moon landings People who think that the Apollo moon landings were not all that they seemed at the time believe that Nasa faked some or all of the landings. Some of the theories surrounding this subject are that the Apollo astronauts did not land on the Moon; Nasa and possibly others intentionally deceived the public into believing the landings did occur by manufacturing, destroying, or tampering with evidence, including photos, telemetry tapes, transmissions, and rock samples; and that Nasa and possibly others continue to actively participate in the conspiracy to this day. Those who think that Nasa faked some or all of the landings base their theories on photographs from the lunar surface which they claim show camera crosshairs partially behind rocks, a flag

planted by Buzz Aldrin moving in a strange way, the lack of stars over the lunar landscape and shadows falling in different direction. These theories have been generally discounted but belief in them particularly on the web persists.

A flying saucer crashed at Roswell in 1947 The event that kick-started more than a half century of conspiracy theories surrounding unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Something did crash at Roswell, New Mexico, sometime before July 7, 1947 and at first the US authorities stated explicitly that this was a flying saucer or disk as shown by the splash story on that days Roswell Daily Record, pictured. Numerous witnesses reported seeing metallic debris scattered over a wide area and at least one reported seeing a blazing craft crossing the sky shortly before it crashed. In recent years, witnesses have added significant new details, including claims of a large military operation dedicated to recovering alien craft and aliens themselves, at as many as 11 crash sites, and alleged witness intimidation. In 1989, former mortician Glenn Dennis claimed that he was involved in alien autopsies which were carried out at the Roswell air force base. The conspiracy theory has been fanned by the US military repeatedly changing its story. Within hours of the army telling reporters that it had recovered a crashed saucer, senior officers insisted that the only thing that had fallen from the sky had been a weather balloon. A report by the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force released in 1995, concluded that the reported recovered material in 1947 was likely debris from a secret government program called Project Mogul, which involved high altitude balloons meant to detect sound waves generated by Soviet atom bomb tests and ballistic missiles. A second report, released in 1997, concluded that reports of alien bodies were likely a combination of innocently transformed memories of military accidents involving injured or killed personnel, and the recovery of anthropomorphic dummies in military programs like Project High Dive conducted in the 1950s. Since the late 1990s the debate about Roswell has polarized with several former pro-UFO researchers concluding that the craft was, indeed, part of a US military project and that it was, most likely, some sort of weather balloon. But further evidence has emerged notably a signed affidavit by Walter Haut, the Roswell Army Air Field public affairs officer who had drafted the initial press release on July 8, 1947. Haut says in the affidavit -signed in 2002 that he saw alien corpses and a craft and that he had been involved in a military cover up. Haut died in 2005.

The assassination of John F Kennedy The 35th President of the United States was shot on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas at 12.30pm. He was fatally wounded by gunshots while riding with his wife Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy in a motorcade. The ten-month investigation of the Warren Commission of 1963 to 1964, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) of 1976 to 1979, and other government investigations concluded

that the President had been assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald who was himself shot dead by Jack Ruby while in police custody. But doubts about the official explanation and the conclusion that Oswald was the lone gunman firing from the Texas Book Depository overlooking Dealey Plaza where Kennedy was hit surfaced soon after the commission report. Footage of the motorcade taken by Abraham Zapruder on 8mm film supported the growing belief that at least four shots were fired not the three that the Warren Commission claimed. The moments of impact recorded on the film also suggested that at least one of the shots came from a completely different direction to those supposedly fired by Oswald evidence backed up by testimony of several eye witnesses. Many believed that several shots were fired by gunmen hiding behind a picket fence on a grassy knoll overlooking the plaza. The assassination is still the subject of widespread speculation and has spawned numerous conspiracy theories, though none of these has been proven. In 1979, the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) found both the original FBI investigation and the Warren Commission Report to be seriously flawed. The HSCA also concluded that there were at least four shots fired and that it was probable that a conspiracy existed. However, later studies, including one by the National Academy of Sciences, have called into question the accuracy of the evidence used by the HSCA to support its finding of four shots.

September 11, 2001 Thanks to the power of the web and live broadcasts on television, the conspiracy theories surrounding the events of 9/11 when terrorists attacked the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington have surpassed those of Roswell and JFK in traction. Despite repeated claims by al-Qaeda that it planned, organized and orchestrated the attacks, several official and unofficial investigations into the collapse of the Twin Towers which concluded that structural failure was responsible and footage of the events themselves, the conspiracy theories continue to grow in strength. At the milder end of the spectrum are the theorists who believe that the US government had prior warning of the attacks but did not do enough to stop them. Others believe that the Bush administration deliberately turned a blind eye to those warnings because it wanted a pretext to launch wars in the Middle East to usher in another century of American hegemony. A large group of people collectively called the 9/11 Truth Movement cite evidence that an airliner did not hit the Pentagon and that the World Trade Centre could not have been brought down by airliner impacts and burning aviation fuel alone. This final group points to video evidence which they claim shows puffs of smoke so-called demolition squibs emerging from the Twin Towers at levels far below the aircraft impact zones and prior to the collapses. They also believe that, on the day itself, the US air force was deliberately stood down or sent on exercises to prevent intervention that could have saved the lives of nearly 3,000 people. Many witnesses including firemen, policemen and people who were inside the towers at the time claim to have heard explosions below the aircraft impacts (including in basement levels) and before both the collapses and the attacks themselves. As with the assassination of JFK, the official inquiry into the events the 9/11 Commission Report is widely derided by the conspiracy community and held up as further evidence that 9/11 was an inside job. Scientific journals have consistently rejected these hypotheses. Source: http://thebizzare.com/cool/greatest-conspiracy-theories-in-history

READING ACTIVITY

1. Which of the conspiracy theory you read about is the one that you consider to have the best support? Why?
____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Why are conspiracy theories generational? ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is the flying saucer theory about? ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Which conspiracy theory has the worst arguments and why? ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Which conspiracy theory mentioned do you believe has plausible explanations or evidence? Explain. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary:
A. Guess the meaning of the underlined word by context and then write the definition in the space provided.
1.- a) The referendum turned out to be a hoax. b) Was the JFK assassination by Lee Harvey Oswell another hoax pulled off by the CIA? Definition: _____________________________________________________________________________ 2.- a) He was on trial for allegedly murdering his wife. b) The alleged murderer could not be found anywhere. Definition: _____________________________________________________________________________ 3- a) Some people are easily deceived by the news. b) The con man deceived my sister when he told her she had won a free ticket to Hawaii. Definition: _____________________________________________________________________________ 4.- a) Jack the Reaper threatened the lives of many. b) His threat to kill me was quite explicit. Definition: ____________________________________________________________________________ 5.- a) Some people think that the government is orchestrating a plan to spread revolutionary ideas in schools. b) The Qaeda (Arabic for "the Base") group orchestrated the terrorist attack in New York and Washington Definition: _____________________________________________________________________________ 6.- a) The reporter tampered with the news about the UFO. b) Corrupt police officers will tamper with the evidence in order not to be caught red- handed. Definition: _____________________________________________________________________________ 7.- a) The producers doubled the speed of the footage for the commercial. b) The U2 black-and-white footage in Monterey was excellent. Definition: _____________________________________________________________________________

B. Match the word to its definition

a. b. c.

To empower

_______1. Occurring or accepted widely. Spread or scattered. _______2. Lacking required authorization, supervision. _______3. An imperfection, often concealed. _______4. A person who habitually doubts the authenticity of accepted beliefs. _______5. The act of catching sight of something, especially something unusual or searched for. _______6. To invest with power, especially legal power or official authority.

Skeptics To turn a blind eye d. To launch e. Means f. To claim

g. Rogue h. Widespread i. Cover up j. Flaw k. Sightings

_______7. To set or thrust in motion. _______8. To demand, ask for, or take as one's own or one's due. _______9. With the use of; owing to. _______10. To hide from view or knowledge. _______11. To knowingly refuse to acknowledge something which you know to be real. To ignore.

C. Make sentences with the following words.

1. Tabloid ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Plot __________________________________________________________________________ 3. Pursue ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Plagiarism ___________________________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR:
Statements of Agreement
The adverbs so, too, neither and either are frequently used when agreeing with a statement that has been made by another person. So and too are always used when agreeing with a positive statement. Neither and either are always used when agreeing with a negative statement. The main verb used with these adverbs is determined by the verb used in the initial statement. If a form of the to be verb is used in the initial statement then to be must be used in the statement of agreement. Likewise, if a modal verb such as can is used then a modal verb must be used in the agreeing statement. All other verbs require the use of do in the agreeing statement. See the following chart. If the initial statement is positive Verbs initial statement agreement using so agreement using too -to beSo am I. I am, too. Modal verbs So can I. I can, too. all other verbs So do I. I do, too.

I'm hungry. I can eat spicy food. I like chicken.

If the initial statement is negative

Verbs initial statement agreement using neither agreement using either

-to beNeither am I. I'm not either.

Modal verbs Neither can I. I can't either.

all other verbs Neither do I. I don't either.

I'm not very hungry. I can't drink soju. I don't like chicken.

Also, notice the position of the adverbs so, too, neither and either. So and neither are both at the beginning of the phrase. Too and either are both at the end of the phrase.

NOTE: The words "so" and "too" are often used in expressions of positive agreement. "Too" usually comes at the end of the sentence, and "so" at the beginning. Remember to use "question order" with so. For example, A: I'm in a hurry. B: So am I. / I am, too. / Me too. A: I need to go to the bathroom. B: So do I. / I do, too. / Me too. A. I recommend giving the murderer a life sentence. B. So do I. / I do, too. / Me too. Negative Agreement For negative agreement, use neither in place of "so," and either in place of "too." For example, A: I'm not hungry. B: Neither am I. / I'm not either. / Me neither.* A: I don't have enough money anyway. B: Neither do I. / I don't either. / Me neither.* A. I dont agree with death penalty. B. Neither do I. / I dont either. / Me neither. These expressions can also be used in the second or third person: They're from Luxembourg. So are we. / We are too. Todd doesn't like spaghetti. Neither does Louise. / Louise doesn't either.* *Note that neither is used with "positive" verbs and either is used with "negative" verbs.

GRAMMAR PRACTICE
A. The Copycat Game: A copycat is someone who agrees with everything you say. Imagine your young brother copying everything you say - that's how this game is played. Examples: I'm tired I like cookies. I suggest studying later. - copycat answer: So am I. or I am too. - copycat answer: I do too. or So do I. - copycat answer: I do too. or So do I.

Choose the correct statement to AGREE with the first sentence to play the copycat game. 1) I am an incredulous person. ____I wil,l too. ____I am, too. 2) Pierre agreed to write his paper. ____So did I too. ____I was, too. ____I do, too. ____So was I. ____So do I. ____So did I. ____So am I. ____I should too. ____So did I. ____So was I. ____So am I. ____So did I. ____So did I. ____So was I. ____So do I. ____So was I.

3) Sean claims to know a lot about the Jesus Conspiracy. ____I am, too. ____So do I. ____So is mine. 4) Maria should do her homework now. ____I am too. ____Should I, too. ____So do I.

5) I remember meeting Pam when I was a child. ____I can, too. ____I do, too. ____I am, too. 6) Stan stopped to say hi to his neighbor. ____I did, too. ____So should I. 7) Kaye regrets telling a lie. ____I do, too. ____I am, too. ____So do I. ____And I am.

8) I was not ready to learn something new. ____So was I. ____Neither was I. ____I didnt either. 9) I cant afford to buy a new laptop. ____So can I. ____Neither can I. 10) She didnt mean to hurt your feelings. ____So did I. ____Neither was I. ____I didnt either. ____I didnt either.

11) He doesnt allow you to use his Honda. ____I dont either. ____Neither did I. ____I didnt either. 12) Betty isnt risking losing her money. ____So am I. ____Neither am I. ____I dont either.

B. Get in groups of three students. Each student reads a statement and the other two react to agree or disagree. Examples: I come from Germany I do, too. / I dont I am 19 years old

So am I

I am, too.

1. I'm learning about conspiracy theories around the world. ______________________________ ___________________________ 2. I've not been to Area 51. ______________________________ ___________________________

3. I was shocked to find out that Global Warming might be a hoax. ______________________________ ___________________________ 4. I cannot live without television. ______________________________ 5. I believe conspiracy theories are real. ______________________________ 6. I haven't seen any UFOs. ______________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

7. I went to a movie about the death of Lady Diana. ______________________________ ___________________________ 8. I'm writing a paper on September 11. ______________________________ 9. I have never been abducted. ______________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

10. I don't think Elvis Presley has been seen in public. ______________________________ ___________________________

REMEMBERTo communicate positive or negative AGREEMENT correctly, you must REFLECT the AUXILIARY of the original statement in your response. For example, if the original statement contains the verb TO BE in present tense, your response will have it, too. If the original statement contains the simple past of a verb, your response will contain the simple past AUXILIARY, or "DID". Study the examples below:
Negative Agreement EITHER or NEITHER (follows a neg. aux.) (begins the response) Positive Agreement SO or TOO (begins the statement) (follows the aux.) Response 1: So is he. So do I. So did we. So have they. So can you. So is he. Response 2: He is, too. I do, too. We did, too. They have, too. You can, too. He is, too.

Original Statement: She isn't nice. (he) She doesn't like him. (I ) She didn't finish it. (we) She hasn't been there. (they) . She can't play piano. (you) She isn't trying hard. (he)

Response 1: Neither is he. Neither do I. Neither did we. Neither have they. Neither can you. Neither is he.

Response 2: He isn't either. I don't either. We didn't either. They haven't either. You can't either. He isn't either.

Original Statement: She is nice. (he) She likes him. (I ) She finished it. (we) She has been there. (they) She can play piano. (you) She is trying hard. (he)

EXTRA GRAMMAR PRACTICE

Part A: Match the statement in the first column with a response in the second column. 1. She has gone home. a. Neither has she. 2. We need help. b. We will, too. 3. I don't remember. c. So does he. 4. You forgot the gift. d. I didn't, either. 5. He didn't watch the match. e. Neither is she. 6. They haven't arrived. f. So did I. 7. You're studying economics. g. They have, too. 8. I'm not working tonight. h. He doesn't, either. 9. He'll come by 8:00. i. So are we. Part B. Answer with So or too. (So am I/ So do I/ So can I; I am too/ I do too/ I can too) 1. I went to bed late last night. 2. I am thirsty. 3. Ive just had dinner. 4. I need a holiday. 5. Ill be late tomorrow. 6. I was very tired this morning. _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________

Part C. Answer with either or neither. (Im not either/ I cant either; Neither am I/ Neither can I) 1. Im not going out tomorrow. 2. She cant ride a bicycle. 3. I dont like shopping. 4. I cant go to the party. 5. I didnt phone Alex last night. _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________

Part D. Respond to the statements in two ways using the subject given. 1. He is my friend. (she) ___________________________ _____________________________ 2. He doesn't eat French fries. (you)___________________________ _____________________________ 3. He needed me. (they ) ___________________________ _____________________________ 4. He hasn't worked there long.(we) ___________________________ _____________________________ 5. He isn't learning how to type. (I) ___________________________ _____________________________ Part E: Write a statement that goes with each response. Follow the example. Example: You want an ice cream. So do I. 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________ 6. _________________________________________________________________ 7. _________________________________________________________________ 8. _________________________________________________________________

So did they. You have, too. Neither has he. I can't, either. We are, too. Neither are you. So will we. She didn't, either.

Part F: Complete the following text agreeing or disagreeing with the opinions expressed. Use the subject found in parenthesis. Use each of the structures studied in class at least once. Do not use any informal expression. John: My sister has not come to Venezuela for 4 years because of the increased crime rate. She says she read in a travel guide that you should not be out at night anywhere in Caracas. Peter: _____________________________________ (brother/agrees). He said he is not coming until crime has improved. I am really upset at him. Jane: _______________________________________ (I/disagree). Havent you seen the recent statistics? I read in the newspaper that crime increased from 4,550 in 1999 to 16,047 a year. I wouldnt have thought it was so high! John: _______________________________________ (I/agree). I guess we are used to the numbers because we live here. It makes me want to stay home all day or go abroad, and I love this country. Jane: _______________________________________ (our siblings/agree), but personal safety comes first.