Agreement of tout, tous, toute, toutes
Before a noun, "tout" agrees in gender and number: tout (m.s.), toute (f.s.), tous (m.p.), toutes (f.p.). Before a feminine adjective beginning with a consonant, "toute" agrees. Before a vowel, "tout" is an adverb and stays unchanged.
Examples
Tous les enfants sont là.
Key word(s): tous
Before "enfants" (masculine plural).
Elle est tout émue.
Key word(s): tout
An adverb before a feminine adjective beginning with a vowel, so it stays unchanged.
Elles sont toutes contentes.
Key word(s): toutes
Before a feminine adjective beginning with a consonant, so it agrees.
Toute la classe a compris.
Key word(s): toute
Before "classe" (feminine singular).
Tout le monde est venu.
Key word(s): tout
Before "monde" (masculine singular).
Common mistakes
- Writing "toute émue" (a pointless agreement before a vowel)
- Writing "tout contentes" (forgetting the agreement before a consonant)
- Confusing "tous" and "tout" before a masculine plural noun
Test yourself
___ les filles sont venues.
Elle est ___ heureuse.
___ le village fête l'événement.
Tips to remember
- Before a noun, the agreement is simple: gender plus number of the noun.
- Before an adjective, "tout" is an adverb meaning "très" (very). Exception: it agrees in the feminine before a consonant.
- "Tous" is pronounced "touss" when it is a pronoun ("ils sont tous là") and "tou" before a noun.
Practice this rule with audio dictation
Apostrophe· drills this rule with dictations matched to your level, corrected instantly by AI.
