‘También’ vs. ‘tampoco’: What’s the difference?

Learning the difference between the words también vs. tampoco (also vs. neither) and how to use them is an essential step in your Spanish language journey. Why are they so important? Well, también and tampoco are indispensable in all kinds of Spanish communication. You’ll find them in formal, casual, written and spoken language.

So, let’s start from the beginning. Both también and tampoco are adverbs. They are used to express agreement with a prior statement. In short, tampoco in English means ‘neither’. También in English means  ‘also’, ‘too’ or ‘as well’.

Are you ready to learn more about these two little but powerful words? ¡Nosotros también! (We are too!)

• ‘También’: Meaning and use
• ‘Tampoco’: Meaning and use
• Pro tip: ‘A mí también’ vs. ‘a mí tampoco’

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‘También’: Meaning and use

As mentioned, también is equivalent to the English words ‘too’, ‘also’ or ‘as well’. We use it to express:

• Agreement with a positive sentence.
  
  – ¡Estoy tan feliz de que hoy haya salido el sol!
  – Yo también!
  
  – I’m so happy the sun has come out today!
  – I am as well!

• Additional information related to what was just stated.
  
  – El pastel estaba relleno de crema de chocolate.
  – Sí, y también tenía fresas.
  
  – The cake was filled with chocolate cream.
  – Yes, and it also had strawberries.

When it comes to structuring a sentence with también, we can place this word before or after a verb. 

-Yo también tengo frío/Yo tengo frío también (I’m also cold/I’m cold too).

‘Tampoco’: Meaning and use

Many think of tampoco (‘neither’ in English) as being the opposite of también… Well, not quite. Tampoco is also used to indicate agreement but in a different context. It expresses: 

• Agreement with a negative clause:

– No sé andar en bicicleta.
– Yo tampoco sé.

– I don’t know how to ride a bicycle.
– Me neither (I don’t know how either).

However, we can also use it to:

• Downplay a sentence, idea or feeling in an informal manner. There’s no direct English translation for this, but we can think of it as a tool to challenge what was said.
  
  – Nunca me había sentido tan triste.
  – Bueno, tampoco es para tanto.
  
  – I’ve never been this sad before.
  – Well, it’s also not that bad.

Tampoco is usually placed before the verb, with few exceptions. In the case where it appears after the verb, we must negate the verb by creating a double negative. 

-Elsa no come carne, tampoco (Elsa doesn’t eat meat either).

Pro tip: ‘A mí también’ vs. ‘a mí tampoco’

Another common structure that uses también and tampoco is a mí también/a mí tampoco. We use it to respond to a statement that uses a verb with an indirect object or an indirect object pronoun. In this case, we must also use an indirect object to agree with the sentence.

• A mí también (me too/so do I): this will follow an affirmative sentence.
  
  – Esa película me pareció malísima.
  – A mí también me pareció mala.
  
  – I thought that movie was really bad.
  – So did I (it seemed really bad to me also).
  
• A mí tampoco (me neither/neither do I): we use it to agree with a negative sentence.
  
  – A Daniela no le gustan los gatos.
  – A mí tampoco me gustan. Prefiero a los perros.
  
  – Daniela doesn’t like cats.
  – Me neither (I don’t like them either). I prefer dogs.
  

As above, the common verbs that use this structure include: gustar (to like something), importar (to care about something), encantar (to be charmed by something) and interesar (to find something interesting).

‘También’ vs. ‘tampoco’: Extra examples 

Here are a few additional examples to really nail it down.

• El sábado llovió mucho (it rained a lot on Saturday).
• El domingo también (also on Sunday).
  
• Estoy atorada en el tráfico (I’m stuck in traffic).
• Yo también (me too).
  
• Nunca he corrido un maratón (I’ve never run a marathon).
• Yo tampoco. Solo he corrido carreras cortas (Me neither. I’ve only run short races).
  
• Casi nunca voy al cine (I almost never go to the cinema).
• Yo tampoco voy. Prefiero Netflix (Me neither. I prefer Netflix).
  
• Nunca había sentido tanto calor en mi vida (I have never felt such heat before in my life).
• Tampoco… ha estado peor (come on… we’ve had worse).
  
• Me aburre bastante la clase de matemáticas (I find math class so boring).
• A mí también (me too).
  
• No me interesa la Fórmula 1 (I don’t care about Formula 1).
• A mí tampoco (me neither).

Tip: Notice how in Spanish, we don’t need to repeat the sentence or verb structure used in the previous statement. We can keep our answers short and just say yo también, a mí tampoco, etc.A simple but important step

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A simple but important step

Knowing how to differentiate between también vs. tampoco is an important step when learning basic Spanish vocabulary. Both are constantly used in spoken, written, formal and informal language. In other words, they’re a big deal! A quick rule of thumb to keep in mind is that también is used to agree with a positive sentence, while tampoco is used for negative clauses. Simple, huh? Let’s get practicing!

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