都 | Grammar | lingaku

Structure

[plural subject] + 都 + [verb] / [adjective] [plural subject] + 都 + 不 / 没 + [verb]

Description

都 means "all" or "both". It goes before the verb, and it refers back to something already mentioned.

。

We're all students.

。

They've all arrived.

都 looks backwards

Whatever 都 quantifies has to come before it. Dū都wǒ men我们shì是xué sheng学生 is wrong, and so is putting 都 in front of the thing it counts.

When the object is what is "all", it moves in front of 都:

。

I like all of these dishes.

does not say the same thing.

With a negative, position changes the meaning

都不 negates everything; 不都 negates the "all".

。

None of them are students.

。

Not all of them are students.

都 with question words

谁都, 什么都, 哪儿都 turn a question word into "every" – or, under negation, "none".

。

I don't want to eat anything.

都 with 每

每 nearly always needs 都 to finish the sentence.

。

I run every day.

Examples

。

We're all international students.

。

They're all busy.

。

I've read all of these books.

。

None of us knows.

。

Not all of them are Chinese.

。

I get up at six every day.

。

He eats any dish.

？

Has everyone arrived?

。

Both rooms are clean.

。

I didn't go anywhere.

。

The students in our class are all hard-working.

。

I want both of these.

References

Emphasizing quantity with "dou"resources.allsetlearning.com