What's the difference between tout, toute, tous, and toutes?

They're agreement forms of one word. Tout is masculine singular, toute feminine singular, tous masculine plural, toutes feminine plural. Which one you need depends on the noun involved and on whether tout is working as an adjective, a pronoun, or an adverb.

Is the s in tous pronounced?

Only when tous is a pronoun. In tous les jours it's silent, so the word sounds like tout. In ils sont tous partis it's clearly sounded, because tous is standing in for ils rather than introducing a noun.

Why does tout sometimes agree when it's an adverb?

For pronunciation, not grammar. Before a feminine adjective beginning with a consonant, French writes toute so the two words don't run awkwardly together: elle est toute pâle. Before a vowel the liaison already works, so tout stays as it is: elle est tout émue.

How do you say everybody in French?

Tout le monde, which is literally all the world and takes a singular verb: tout le monde est arrivé. Tous les gens exists but sounds heavier, and tous on its own means all of them rather than everybody.

What does pas du tout mean?

Not at all. It's built on the noun tout, and the du is a leftover partitive rather than a separate word, which is why pas de tout is wrong. On its own, du tout can also answer a question: — Ça vous dérange ? — Du tout.

French grammar · Intermediate

Tout, Toute, Tous, Toutes: Every Form of Tout Explained

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

Tout, toute, tous, and toutes are four forms of a single word that can be an adjective, a pronoun, an adverb, or a noun. The form depends on the job it's doing and on the noun it relates to, and in one of those jobs the -s of tous is pronounced.

Tous les invités sont arrivés, et toutes les places sont prises.

All the guests have arrived, and all the seats are taken.

What it is

Tout is one of the busiest words in French. The same four spellings serve as a determiner meaning all or every, a pronoun meaning everything or all of them, an adverb meaning completely, and a noun meaning the whole. Each use has its own agreement behaviour.

tout le monde, tout va bien, elle est tout étonnée, le tout — everybody, everything's fine, she's completely astonished, the whole lot.

How to spot it

Ask what tout is attached to. A noun phrase means it's an adjective; nothing at all means it's a pronoun; an adjective or adverb means it's an adverb; an article in front of it means it's a noun.

toute la journée — all day (adjective, before a noun phrase)
Tout est prêt. — Everything's ready. (pronoun, standing alone)
Ils sont tout près. — They're very close. (adverb, before an adverb)
Le tout coûte 30 euros. — The whole lot costs 30 euros. (noun, after an article)

Pronunciation gives you a free clue: the -s of tous is silent when it's an adjective (tous les jours) and pronounced when it's a pronoun (ils sont tous là).

Tout Toute Tous Toutes Quick Reference

Every form and every job

Form	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
tout	adjective, m. sg.	all of, the whole	tout le temps — all the time
toute	adjective, f. sg.	all of, the whole	toute la nuit — all night
tous	adjective, m. pl. (s silent)	all, every	tous les jours — every day
toutes	adjective, f. pl.	all, every	toutes les semaines — every week
tout	pronoun	everything	Tout va bien. — Everything's fine.
tous / toutes	pronoun (s pronounced in tous)	all of them	Elles sont toutes venues. — They all came.
tout	adverb	completely, very	tout seul — all alone
le tout	noun	the whole, the lot	Le tout est de commencer. — The main thing is to start.

Common Tout Toute Tous Toutes Examples in French

The four jobs, one category each:

Adjective: All of a Noun Phrase

J'ai lu tout le livre.: I read the whole book.
Toute ma famille sera là.: My whole family will be there.
Tous mes amis sont partis.: All my friends have left.
Toutes ces questions sont utiles.: All these questions are useful.

Notice the word order: tout comes before the article or possessive, not after it. That's unusual for a French determiner.

Pronoun: Standing In for the Noun

Tout est possible.: Anything is possible.
Je t'ai tout dit.: I've told you everything.
Ils sont tous d'accord.: They all agree.
Toutes ont réussi l'examen.: They all passed the exam.

As a pronoun in a compound tense, tout slides between the auxiliary and the participle: j'ai tout compris.

Adverb: Completely

Il habite tout près.: He lives very close by.
Parle tout doucement.: Speak very softly.
Ils étaient tout contents.: They were absolutely delighted.
C'est tout simplement faux.: It's quite simply wrong.

The adverb is normally invariable, with one narrow exception covered below.

Fixed Expressions

tout le monde: everybody
tout à fait: exactly, absolutely
tout de suite: right away
pas du tout: not at all
en tout cas: in any case
tout à coup: all of a sudden

Tout le monde takes a singular verb: tout le monde est là, not sont là.

Choosing the Right Form

Identify the job first. The agreement rules then follow automatically, and only the adverb has a genuine quirk.

As an Adjective, Tout Precedes the Determiner

Most French determiners exclude one another, but tout stacks in front of them. You get tout le, toute la, tous les, tous mes, toutes ces — the article or possessive stays put and tout goes before it.

Tous ces gens attendent depuis une heure.

All these people have been waiting for an hour.

tout + article + noun.

The Adjective Agrees With Its Noun

Gender and number come from the noun tout governs, exactly as with any adjective. Journée is feminine singular, so toute la journée; jours is masculine plural, so tous les jours.

toute la matinée et tous les après-midi

the whole morning and every afternoon

Look at the noun, not the meaning.

The Pronoun Sounds Different

Tous as an adjective is pronounced like tout, with a silent -s. Tous as a pronoun is pronounced with the -s clearly sounded. This is the only place in the paradigm where speech distinguishes two uses that writing doesn't.

Tous les étudiants sont venus, et ils sont tous restés.

All the students came, and they all stayed.

Adjective: silent s. Pronoun: sounded s.

As an Adverb, Tout Means Completely

In front of an adjective or another adverb, tout intensifies rather than quantifies. It's a close cousin of très, but it suggests wholeness rather than degree: tout mouillé is soaked through.

Elle est rentrée tout trempée.

She came home soaking wet.

Before an adjective → completely.

The Adverb Has One Agreement Exception

Adverbs never agree, but tout breaks its own rule for the sake of pronunciation. Before a feminine adjective starting with a consonant or an aspirate h, it takes the feminine ending; before a vowel it stays invariable.

Elle est toute contente, mais elle est tout étonnée.

She's completely delighted, but she's utterly astonished.

Feminine + consonant → toute.

Common Mistakes with Tout Toute Tous Toutes

Incorrect: tous le temps — all the time

Correct: tout le temps — all the time

Temps ends in -s but is singular, so tout stays singular too. The final -s of the noun is part of its spelling, not a plural marker.

Incorrect: tout les jours — every day

Correct: tous les jours — every day

Jours is masculine plural, so the adjective has to be tous. It's written with an -s even though nothing changes in the pronunciation.

Incorrect: Elle est toute étonnée. — She's completely astonished.

Correct: Elle est tout étonnée. — She's completely astonished.

The adverb only agrees before a consonant. Étonnée begins with a vowel, so tout stays invariable and the phrase links smoothly.

Incorrect: Ils sont tout là. — They're all here.

Correct: Ils sont tous là. — They're all here.

Here tous is a pronoun standing for ils, so it agrees and its -s is pronounced. Tout would turn the sentence into they are completely here.

The Corners of the Paradigm

Three areas where tout stops behaving like a straightforward quantifier.

The adverb's agreement exception

Tout as an adverb agrees only when the following feminine adjective begins with a consonant sound. This exists purely so the phrase remains easy to say.

Elle est toute rouge.: She's gone completely red.
Elles sont toutes seules.: They're all on their own.
Elle est tout heureuse.: She's absolutely delighted.
Elles sont tout émues.: They're deeply moved.

With a masculine adjective there is never any agreement: ils sont tout contents, not tous contents.

Tout en with a present participle

Tout en plus the -ant form marks two actions happening at once, often with a hint of contradiction between them.

Il parlait tout en conduisant.: He was talking while driving.
Tout en souriant, elle a refusé.: While smiling, she said no.
Tout en étant fatigué, il a continué.: Even though he was tired, he carried on.

Without tout, en conduisant just means while driving. Tout adds simultaneity or concession.

Tout as a noun

Preceded by an article, tout becomes a masculine noun meaning the whole. Its plural is the perfectly regular touts, with an -s and no relation to the adjective tous.

Ces pièces forment un tout.: These parts form a 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.

Risquer le tout pour le tout means to stake everything on one throw.

Tout Toute Tous Toutes FAQs

What's the difference between tout, toute, tous, and toutes?: They're agreement forms of one word. Tout is masculine singular, toute feminine singular, tous masculine plural, toutes feminine plural. Which one you need depends on the noun involved and on whether tout is working as an adjective, a pronoun, or an adverb.
Is the s in tous pronounced?: Only when tous is a pronoun. In tous les jours it's silent, so the word sounds like tout. In ils sont tous partis it's clearly sounded, because tous is standing in for ils rather than introducing a noun.
Why does tout sometimes agree when it's an adverb?: For pronunciation, not grammar. Before a feminine adjective beginning with a consonant, French writes toute so the two words don't run awkwardly together: elle est toute pâle. Before a vowel the liaison already works, so tout stays as it is: elle est tout émue.
How do you say everybody in French?: Tout le monde, which is literally all the world and takes a singular verb: tout le monde est arrivé. Tous les gens exists but sounds heavier, and tous on its own means all of them rather than everybody.
What does pas du tout mean?: Not at all. It's built on the noun tout, and the du is a leftover partitive rather than a separate word, which is why pas de tout is wrong. On its own, du tout can also answer a question: — Ça vous dérange ? — Du tout.