French grammar · Advanced
Tout as a Noun in French: Le Tout, Un Tout, and Pas du Tout
Preceded by an article, tout stops being a quantifier and becomes a masculine noun meaning the whole or the entirety. It takes a regular -s plural, touts, and it anchors a small group of very common expressions including pas du tout and le tout est de.
Ces pièces forment un tout cohérent.
These parts form a coherent whole.
What it is
Most of the time tout modifies something else. Put an article in front of it and it becomes a thing in its own right: le tout, un tout, ce tout. The noun is masculine, and it means the complete set considered as one object.
Le tout vaut plus que la somme des parties. — The whole is worth more than the sum of the parts.
How to spot it
Look for a determiner directly in front of tout with no noun after it. That combination can only be the noun.
- un tout indivisible — an indivisible whole
- Le tout fait 42 euros. — That comes to 42 euros altogether.
- Le tout est de rester calme. — The main thing is to stay calm.
- Ça ne me dérange pas du tout. — It doesn't bother me at all.
Compare tout le monde, where tout is an adjective and the article belongs to monde, with le tout, where the article belongs to tout itself.
Tout Noun Quick Reference
The noun and the expressions built on it
| Expression | Literally | Means | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| le tout | the whole | the whole thing, the lot | Le tout pèse cinq kilos. — The lot weighs five kilos. |
| un tout | a whole | a single unit | Ils forment un tout. — They form a whole. |
| le tout est de… | the whole is to | the main thing is to | Le tout est de commencer. — The main thing is to start. |
| pas du tout | not of the whole | not at all | Pas du tout, je t'assure. — Not at all, honestly. |
| du tout au tout | from whole to whole | completely, utterly | Il a changé du tout au tout. — He's changed completely. |
| le tout pour le tout | the whole for the whole | everything on one throw | Jouer le tout pour le tout. — To risk everything. |
| des touts | wholes | the plural of the noun | deux touts distincts — two distinct wholes |
Common Tout Noun Examples in French
The noun in each of its habitats:
The Whole Considered as One Thing
- Ces chapitres forment un tout.
- These chapters form a single whole.
- Le tout est plus grand que ses parties.
- The whole is greater than its parts.
- Il faut juger l'œuvre comme un tout.
- The work has to be judged as a whole.
- Ce mobilier fait un tout harmonieux.
- This furniture makes a harmonious whole.
This is the abstract, philosophical use, and it's where the noun feels most like a noun.
Adding Things Up
- Le tout fait 42 euros.
- That comes to 42 euros altogether.
- Je vous laisse le tout pour vingt euros.
- I'll let you have the lot for twenty euros.
- Emballez-moi le tout, s'il vous plaît.
- Wrap the whole lot for me, please.
This is the everyday use: markets, bills, and packing. Le tout stands in for a list you've just given.
Le Tout Est De
- Le tout est de ne pas paniquer.
- The main thing is not to panic.
- Le tout est d'arriver à l'heure.
- The main thing is to get there on time.
- Le tout est de savoir quand s'arrêter.
- The whole trick is knowing when to stop.
Note the elision in d'arriver. The construction always takes de plus an infinitive.
Fixed Phrases
- pas du tout
- not at all
- rien du tout
- nothing at all
- plus du tout
- not any more at all
- du tout au tout
- completely, from top to bottom
- le tout-venant
- the run-of-the-mill sort
These don't decompose. Du tout in particular has drifted so far from the noun that most speakers no longer hear one in it.
How the Noun Behaves
Once tout is a noun it follows ordinary noun rules, including a plural that surprises people who know the adjective.
A Determiner Turns Tout Into a Noun
Le, un, ce, or a possessive in front of tout, with nothing following, is the signal. Without a determiner you're looking at the pronoun or the adverb instead.
Ce tout est difficile à définir.
This whole is hard to define.
Article + tout, nothing after.
It Is Masculine and Singular by Default
Le tout takes masculine singular agreement on everything around it, even when the things it sums up are feminine or plural. Le tout est prêt refers to a pile of suitcases just as happily as to one parcel.
Le tout est arrivé ce matin.
The whole lot arrived this morning.
le tout est, never le tout sont.
The Plural Is Touts, With an -S
The adjective pluralises to tous, but the noun is perfectly regular and gives touts. The two are pronounced differently as well: the noun's -s is silent, but the vowel and the article make the distinction clear.
On distingue deux touts bien séparés.
Two clearly separate wholes can be distinguished.
Noun → touts. Adjective → tous.
Le Tout Est De Introduces the Crux
This is a fixed frame meaning the essential thing is. It always takes de plus an infinitive, and it's the standard way to name the one condition that matters.
Le tout est de partir assez tôt.
The main thing is to set off early enough.
le tout est de + infinitive.
Du Tout Is a Fossil
The du in pas du tout is a partitive left over from an older construction. It has to be du, never de, and the phrase is now welded together as a single reinforcing unit.
Je ne suis pas du tout fatigué.
I'm not tired at all.
pas du tout, never pas de tout.
Common Mistakes with Tout Noun
Incorrect: Ces pièces forment un tous. — These parts form a whole.
Correct: Ces pièces forment un tout. — These parts form a whole.
The noun is singular here, so it takes no -s. Tous is the plural of the adjective and can't follow an article on its own.
Incorrect: Pas de tout. — Not at all.
Correct: Pas du tout. — Not at all.
The phrase preserves an old partitive du. Because it's frozen, the usual rule that de replaces du after a negative doesn't apply.
Incorrect: deux tous — two wholes
Correct: deux touts — two wholes
As a noun, tout pluralises regularly with -s. Tous belongs to the adjective and pronoun, which are a different word class entirely.
Incorrect: Le tout sont prêts. — The whole lot is ready.
Correct: Le tout est prêt. — The whole lot is ready.
Le tout is grammatically masculine singular, whatever it sums up, so the verb and any adjective stay singular.
Du Tout and Its Relatives
The negative family is where this noun turns up most often in ordinary conversation.
Reinforcing a negative
Du tout attaches to a negative already in the sentence and strengthens it to at all. It sits after the negative word, not before it.
- Il n'a rien dit du tout.
- He said nothing at all.
- Elle ne vient plus du tout.
- She doesn't come at all any more.
- Ça ne change rien du tout.
- That changes nothing whatsoever.
It can't reinforce a positive: du tout only ever appears alongside ne, pas, rien, plus, or jamais.
Du tout as a complete answer
In reply to a question, du tout can stand alone as a brisk, slightly formal way of saying not in the least.
- — Ça vous dérange ? — Du tout.
- 'Does that bother you?' 'Not at all.'
- — Je vous ai réveillé ? — Pas du tout.
- 'Did I wake you?' 'Not at all.'
Pas du tout is neutral; the bare du tout sounds clipped and rather elegant.
Risking everything
Two idioms use the noun to mean the entire stake. Both come from gambling and both are common in journalism.
- Il a joué le tout pour le tout.
- He staked everything on one throw.
- La ville a changé du tout au tout.
- The town has changed beyond recognition.
Risquer le tout pour le tout is an equally common variant of the first.
Tout Noun FAQs
- What does tout mean as a noun?
- The whole, considered as a single object. Un tout is a unit made of parts, and le tout is the complete set you've just been discussing: emballez-moi le tout, wrap the whole lot for me. It's masculine and takes singular agreement.
- What is the plural of the noun tout?
- Touts, with a regular -s. This surprises people who know that the adjective pluralises to tous, but the two are separate words: on distingue deux touts, two wholes can be distinguished.
- Why is it pas du tout and not pas de tout?
- Because the phrase preserves an older partitive that has since frozen. The usual rule about de after a negative doesn't reach inside a fixed expression, so du survives: je ne comprends pas du tout.
- What does le tout est de mean?
- The main thing is to. It names the single condition that decides everything else, and it's always followed by de plus an infinitive: le tout est de garder son calme, the main thing is to stay calm.
- How do I tell the noun tout from the adjective?
- Look for what comes after it. The adjective always has a noun phrase to govern: tout le monde. The noun has an article in front and nothing after: le tout. If you can put it in the plural as touts, it's the noun.