What does tout mean as a pronoun in French?

On its own it means everything or all of it: tout est prêt, everything's ready. In the plural it means all of them, with tous for a masculine or mixed group and toutes for a feminine one: elles sont toutes là.

Where do I put tout in a sentence?

In front of the past participle in a compound tense and in front of an infinitive after a modal: j'ai tout perdu, je veux tout comprendre. The plural forms behave differently and follow the verb: ils sont tous partis.

Is the s in tous pronounced?

It depends on the job. As a pronoun the s is pronounced, so ils sont tous là ends in an audible s sound. As an adjective in front of a noun it is silent: tous les jours sounds like too lay zhoor. It's the clearest audible clue in the whole system.

What's the difference between tout and tout le monde?

Tout means everything, tout le monde means everybody. So tout est arrivé is everything has arrived, while tout le monde est arrivé is everyone has arrived. Note that tout le monde takes a singular verb even though it refers to a group.

Why do I need ce in tout ce que je sais?

Because tout is not a noun and a relative clause has to hang on something. Ce supplies that support, and then the normal choice applies inside: tout ce qui before a verb, tout ce que before a subject, tout ce dont with verbs that take de.

French grammar · Intermediate

Tout as a Pronoun in French: Everything, All of It, All of Them

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

As a pronoun, tout means everything, while tous and toutes mean all of them or all of us. Unlike the adjective tout, the pronoun stands alone with no noun after it, and in compound tenses it slides in front of the past participle: j'ai tout compris. The final s of the pronoun tous is pronounced, which is the one reliable way to hear the difference.

Tout est prêt : ils sont tous arrivés et j'ai tout vérifié.

Everything's ready: they've all arrived and I've checked everything.

What it is

The pronoun tout replaces a whole noun rather than modifying one. In the singular it is neuter and means everything or it all; in the plural it becomes tous for a masculine or mixed group and toutes for a feminine one, and it means all of them. Because it behaves like an object pronoun, it also travels to unexpected places in the sentence.

Tout est prêt, et elles sont toutes venues. — Everything's ready, and they all came.

How to spot it

If tout has no noun leaning on it, it's a pronoun. Tout le gâteau is an adjective plus a noun; tout is delicious on its own only when it stands for a set of things already mentioned.

Tout va bien. — Everything's fine. (pronoun: nothing follows it)
Il a tout mangé. — He ate everything. (pronoun, before the participle)
Ils sont tous partis. — They all left. (pronoun tous, s pronounced)
Toutes sont d'accord. — They all agree. (feminine group)

Singular tout as a pronoun is always masculine singular in agreement, even when the things it stands for are feminine or plural: tout est cassé.

Tout Pronoun Quick Reference

The pronoun forms and what each covers

Form	Pronounced	Means	Example
tout	too	everything, it all	Tout est fini — everything's over
tous	tooss (s said)	all of them (masc. or mixed)	Ils sont tous là — they're all here
toutes	toot	all of them (fem.)	Elles sont toutes prêtes — they're all ready
tout le monde	too luh mond	everybody	Tout le monde sait — everybody knows
tous les deux	tooss lay duh	both of them	Ils viennent tous les deux — they're both coming
tout ce qui / que	too suh kee / kuh	everything that	Tout ce que je sais — everything I know
pas du tout	pah dü too	not at all	Pas du tout — not in the slightest

Common Tout Pronoun Examples in French

Tout as a pronoun across its main patterns:

Tout Meaning Everything

Tout est possible.: Everything is possible.
Tout a changé depuis.: Everything has changed since then.
Je ne comprends pas tout.: I don't understand everything.
Tout se passe bien.: Everything's going well.

The verb after singular tout is third-person singular, so it's tout est and tout va, never tout sont.

Where Tout Sits in the Sentence

J'ai tout oublié.: I forgot everything.
Elle veut tout savoir.: She wants to know everything.
On peut tout expliquer.: You can explain everything.
Il faut tout recommencer.: We have to start it all over again.

This is the pattern English speakers miss most often. Tout goes before the past participle and before an infinitive, not after it.

Tous and Toutes Meaning All of Them

Mes amis sont tous venus.: My friends all came.
Elles sont toutes reparties.: They all left again.
Je les ai tous invités.: I invited all of them.
Bonjour à tous.: Hello everyone.

Tous and toutes normally follow the verb rather than the pronoun they refer to: nous sommes tous fatigués, not tous nous sommes.

Tout in Everyday Replies

C'est tout ?: Is that all?
Ce sera tout, merci.: That'll be all, thanks.
Pas du tout.: Not at all.
Tout à fait.: Absolutely.

These come up dozens of times a day in shops and conversation, and most of them are worth learning as whole units.

How the Pronoun Tout Behaves

Tout is a pronoun with the placement habits of an object pronoun, which explains almost everything unusual about it.

Singular Tout Is Neuter

When tout means everything, it doesn't agree with anything, because it doesn't stand for a specific noun. Adjectives and participles that describe it stay masculine singular.

Tout est cassé dans la cuisine.

Everything's broken in the kitchen.

tout = everything, always masculine singular.

It Moves in Front of Participles and Infinitives

In a compound tense, tout goes between the auxiliary and the past participle, and with a modal it goes between the two verbs. Putting it at the end, as English does, sounds foreign.

Nous avons tout essayé avant de vous appeler.

We tried everything before calling you.

avoir + tout + participle.

Tous and Toutes Agree With the Group

The plural pronoun matches the people or things it refers to. Any group containing at least one masculine member takes tous; toutes needs an entirely feminine set.

Les invitées sont toutes arrivées à l'heure.

The guests all arrived on time.

One masculine → tous.

The Plural Pronoun Follows the Verb

Tous and toutes are placed after a simple verb and after the auxiliary in a compound tense, in the slot where a short adverb would go. They are not attached to the subject pronoun.

Ils ont tous répondu au message.

They all replied to the message.

Verb first, then tous.

The Pronoun Tous Is Pronounced With Its S

This is the only difference between the adjective and the pronoun in speech. Tous les jours has a silent s; ils sont tous là has an audible one, so it sounds like the word for a cough.

Tous les élèves sont venus, tous sans exception.

All the pupils came, every single one.

Adjective tous silent, pronoun tous said out loud.

Common Mistakes with Tout Pronoun

Incorrect: J'ai compris tout. — I understood everything.

Correct: J'ai tout compris. — I understood everything.

The pronoun tout behaves like an object pronoun and goes in front of the past participle. Leaving it at the end copies English word order.

Incorrect: Tous sont cassés dans la cuisine. — Everything's broken in the kitchen.

Correct: Tout est cassé dans la cuisine. — Everything's broken in the kitchen.

Everything in the sense of the whole situation is the neuter singular tout, with a singular verb. Tous would mean all of them, referring to specific countable things.

Incorrect: Tous mes amis sont tous venus. — All my friends came.

Correct: Tous mes amis sont venus. — All my friends came.

Once the adjective tous has done the job in front of the noun, the pronoun is redundant. Use one or the other, not both.

Incorrect: Tout que je veux, c'est du café. — All I want is coffee.

Correct: Tout ce que je veux, c'est du café. — All I want is coffee.

A relative clause cannot attach directly to tout. The pronoun needs ce as a bridge, giving tout ce qui, tout ce que or tout ce dont.

The Patterns Built on the Pronoun

Three constructions account for most of the tout you'll actually hear, and each has its own small rule.

Tout ce qui and tout ce que

Tout cannot be followed directly by a relative clause. It needs ce as a support, and then the ordinary qui-or-que test applies inside the clause.

Tout ce qui brille n'est pas or.: All that glitters is not gold.
Tout ce que je veux, c'est dormir.: All I want is to sleep.
Il note tout ce qu'elle dit.: He writes down everything she says.
Tout ce dont j'ai besoin est ici.: Everything I need is here.

Ce qui before a verb, ce que before a subject, ce dont when the verb takes de, as in avoir besoin de.

Saying all of us, all of them, both

French pairs a personal pronoun with tous or toutes rather than using a phrase like all of them. Numbers slot into the same frame: tous les deux, toutes les trois.

Nous sommes tous d'accord.: We all agree.
Je les connais toutes.: I know all of them.
Ils sont partis tous les deux.: They both left.
Vous avez toutes réussi.: You all passed.

Tous les deux is the standard way to say both; a bare les deux sounds like a list of items rather than a pair of people.

Tout in fixed replies and connectors

A cluster of very frequent expressions is built on tout. They don't decompose, so learn them whole.

Tout à fait.: Exactly, absolutely.
Pas du tout.: Not at all.
Tout de suite.: Right away.
En tout cas, on verra.: In any case, we'll see.

Tout à fait is one of the most common ways of agreeing in French, and it's noticeably more emphatic than oui on its own.

Tout Pronoun FAQs

What does tout mean as a pronoun in French?: On its own it means everything or all of it: tout est prêt, everything's ready. In the plural it means all of them, with tous for a masculine or mixed group and toutes for a feminine one: elles sont toutes là.
Where do I put tout in a sentence?: In front of the past participle in a compound tense and in front of an infinitive after a modal: j'ai tout perdu, je veux tout comprendre. The plural forms behave differently and follow the verb: ils sont tous partis.
Is the s in tous pronounced?: It depends on the job. As a pronoun the s is pronounced, so ils sont tous là ends in an audible s sound. As an adjective in front of a noun it is silent: tous les jours sounds like too lay zhoor. It's the clearest audible clue in the whole system.
What's the difference between tout and tout le monde?: Tout means everything, tout le monde means everybody. So tout est arrivé is everything has arrived, while tout le monde est arrivé is everyone has arrived. Note that tout le monde takes a singular verb even though it refers to a group.
Why do I need ce in tout ce que je sais?: Because tout is not a noun and a relative clause has to hang on something. Ce supplies that support, and then the normal choice applies inside: tout ce qui before a verb, tout ce que before a subject, tout ce dont with verbs that take de.