Expressing "everything" with "shenme dou"

"什么...都/也" (shénme...dōu/yě) is a pattern often used to express "all" or "everything".

Structures

The structure is very clear, as many Chinese grammar points are.

什么 + Noun. + 都

什么 + Noun. + 也

什么 + 都/也

Examples

• 以后 你 应该 什么 水果 都 吃。Later you should eat every fruit.
• 我 什么 电影 都 喜欢 看。I like to watch all the movies. (implying that I like all the movies that come my way)
• 今天 我 什么 工作 都 做了。Today I did all my work.
• 我 什么 都 知道。I know everything.

Negative Structures

The negative structure simply adds a 不 or a 没 after the 都/也.

什么 + Noun. + 都/也 + 不

什么 + Noun. + 都/也 + 没

Examples

• 以后 你 应该 什么 水果 都 不 吃。Later you should not eat every fruit.
• 我 什么 电影 都 不 喜欢 看。I don't like to watch every movie. (implying I don't like movies in general)
• 今天 我 什么 工作 都 没 做。Today I didn't do any work.
• 我 什么 都 不 知道。I don't know anything.

See also

• Expressing "Every" with "mei" and "dou"
• Expressing "Everyone" with "shei"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 195)→buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 286-8) →buy