Neither do I / Nor do I / Me neither / Me either
In this circumstance, which would be the most correct / natural answer?
Person 1: I don't eat meat
Person 2: Neither do I / Nor do I / Me neither / Me either
This says both "neither do I" and "Me neither" are often used. But I have also heard / read "me either" and "nor do I" in multiple scenarios. Which then is the correct way of saying it? Are the others wrong or just not used?
It's not a matter of "correct"-ness. It's a matter of social class and personal presentation.
In decreasing order of falutation:
- nor do I (archaic; now either ironic or intended to sound classy, or both)
- neither do I (normal in writing, common in speech)
- me either (common in speech, more familiar)
- me neither (common in ingroup speech)
... roughly speaking, of course; I'm no sociolinguist.
This kind of social layering for language variation is completely normal, in every language. To call one mode "correct" would be wrong; appropriateness of speech or writing depends on the speaker/writer's aims, and their judgement of their relationship with their listener/reader (and of course on how accurate their judgement is). What's correct in one situation is often incorrect in another.
Neither do I and Me neither are both correct responses to I don't eat meat. So is Nor do I. So is I don't either. But Me either is incorrect. Also note that Me neither is informal (mainly because of the Me part rather than the neither part).
"neither" and "nor" and "don't either" etc are for use in response to a negative. ("I DON'T eat meat")
"either", unless directly preceded by "don't" or some other negative, refers to alternatives, such as "You either eat meat or you don't."
Strictly speaking "I" is used when the speaker is the subject ( you wouldn't say "me don't eat meat")
"me neither", strictly speaking, is short for "me also don't", which has "me" as the subject. However, hardly anyone says "I neither" and "Me neither" has come to be acceptable. "Nor me" is still less acceptable than "Nor I" in this context.
"Me neither" or "Nor me." would be a response to the speaker being the object, such as when the initial statement has the form "Dogs don't bite me."
"I don't bite dogs." could be answered by "Nor I."
"Dogs don't bite me." could be answered by "Nor me."
In response to "Don't bite me!" Be careful not to say "Gnaw me!"