Indicating the whole with "quan"

One of the uses of 全 (quán) is to indicate the entirety of something. It could be used for something like a whole household, an entire country, the whole world, etc.

Using 全 before Noun

Structure

The structure is quite simple, just put 全 in front of the noun you want to emphasize "the whole" of. You cannot use it with 的. Pay attention to the types of nouns you can use with 全, since it is usually paired up with 身 (body), 家 (family), 国 (country), 世界 (world), 天 (day)and the like.

全 + Noun＋都 ＋Verb

Examples

• 我们 全家 都 去 旅游 了。Wǒmen quán jiā dōu qù lǚyóu le.The entire family went traveling.
• 明天 我 全 天 都 呆 在 家里。Míngtiān wǒ quán tiān dōu dāi zài jiālǐ.I am going to stay home all day tomorrow.
• 全 公司 的 人 都 知道 这 件 事 了。 Quán gōngsī de rén dōu zhīdào zhè jiàn shì le.The whole company knew that this thing.
• 打 完 球 以后 我 全 身 都 是 汗。Dǎ wán qiú yǐhòu wǒ quán shēn dōu shì hàn.My whole body sweat after playing the ball.
• 全世界 的 人 都 知道 Obama 是 谁，你 不 知道？Quán shìjiè de rén dōu zhīdào Obama shì shéi, nǐ bù zhīdào?The whole world knows who Obama is. Don't you know?

Using 全都 before Verb

Affirmative Pattern

此处的"全"可以省略，加上"全"是为了强调整体。

Structure

Subj.＋全＋都＋Verb / Adj.

Examples

• 大家 全 都 到 了。Dàjiā quán dōu dào le.Everybody has come.
• 作业 全 都 做 完 了 吗？Zuòyè quán dōu zuò wán le ma?You've finished all your homework?
• 我 全 都 听 懂 了。Wǒ quán dōu tīng dǒng le.I heard and understood all.
• 你 全 都 拿 走 吧。Nǐ quán dōu ná zǒu ba.Take them all.
• 他 把 咖啡 全 都 喝 了。Tā bǎ kāfēi quán dōu hē le.He drank up all the coffee.

Negative Pattern

Structure

"不、没"在"全都"后面是全面否定, 表示"None、not at all".

Subj.＋全都＋不 / 没＋Verb / Adj.

"不、没"在"全都"前面是部分否定, 表示"not all".

Subj.＋不 / 没＋全都＋Verb / Adj.

Examples

• 他们 全 都 没 去。Tāmen quán dōu méi qù.None of them went.
• 这 个 周末 我们 全 都 不 在 家。Zhège zhōumò wǒmen quán dōu bù zài jiā.None of us will be home this weekend.
• 他 说 的 话 全 都 不 要 相信。Tā shuō de huà quán dōu bùyào xiāngxìn.Don't believe what he says.
• 你们 的 员工 全 都 不 会 说 英语 吗？Nǐmen de yuángōng quán dōu bù huì shuō Yīngyǔ ma.None of your employees can't speak English?
• 他们 全 都 没 学 过 汉语。Tāmen quán dōu méi xué guò Hànyǔ.None of them have studied Chinese.

See also

• Referring to "all" using "suoyou"
• Expressing "Everyone" with "shei"
• Expressing "All" with "shenme dou"
• Expressing "Every" with "mei" and "dou"
• Emphasizing quantity with "dou"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词 (p.457) →buy