When you meet someone, you can ask questions to find areas in common.
For example:
“Where are you from?”
“What do you do?”
“What brings you to … (the UK)” (= What’s the reason that you’re in the UK?)
“Is this your first trip to … (the UK)?”
“Do you like it here?”
“Why did you decide to study in the UK?”
“What do you think about … (studying in the UK)?”
“How long are you in the UK for?”
“So what do you do in your free time?”
For more information on how to ask questions, see our page on Question words in English grammar.
At social events you can also ask someone:
“How do you know (name of person)?”
“Do you know anyone here?”
Finding areas in common – agreeing
When someone says something that is the same for you, you can use “Me too”, “So do I” or “I do too” to agree.
“I do a bit of painting and photography.”
“Me too.” / “I do too”.
“I love trying new restaurants.”
“So do I” / “I do too” / “Me too”
Grammar rule!
Use “So do I” or “I do too” in sentences in the Present Simple. That’s because “do” is the auxiliary for the Present Simple.
If the sentence has a different tense (or uses the verb “to be”), the auxiliary changes:
I‘m Italian. (verb to be)
So am I / I am too!
I‘m living in a hall of residence. (Present Continuous)
So am I / I am too!
I was very shy as a child. (past tense of the verb “to be”)
So was I / I was too!
I saw Coldplay in concert last week. (Past Simple tense)
So did I! / I did too! (Use “did” as the auxiliary for verbs in the Past Simple)
Remember: you can use “Me too!” in all situations.
When the sentence is negative
Use “Neither do I” or “Me neither” when you want to agree with someone who makes a negative statement. You can pronounce “neither” as “n – eye – thuh” or “n – ee – thuh”.
“I don’t like the weather here.”
“Neither do I” / “Me neither”.
“I don’t go to the gym very often.”
“Neither do I” / “Me neither”.
But like the other examples, you need to change “do” if you change tense or use the verb “to be”.
I‘m not a great sports fan. (verb “to be”)
Me neither. / Neither am I
I wasn’t a good swimmer when I was a child. (verb “to be” in the past)
Neither was I.
I didn’t like her last film. (Past Simple)
Neither did I.
If you find it hard to remember, you can use “Same here!” instead.
“I don’t know anyone at this party.”
“Same here!”
More tips!
See our page How to keep an English conversation going for ways to have an English conversation with only a few words.
Getting To Know Someone
Choose the correct answer.