The "all" adverb "dou"
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Level
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Similar to
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Used for
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Keywords
The adverb 都 (dōu) is used to express "all" in Chinese. It's common to use 都 (dōu) in a variety of sentences where it would seem unnecessary in English.
Contents
都 for "all"
Structure
Subject + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
Remember that 都 (dōu) appears after the subject. A common mistake learners make is to put 都 (dōu) at the beginning of the sentence (as "all" often appears there in English). This isn't good Chinese - make sure you put 都 (dōu) after the subject and before the verb.
Examples
- 你们 都 认识 John 吗 ？ Do you all know John?
- 他们 都 在 上海 。 They are all in Shanghai.
- 明天 我们 都 可以 去 。 Tomorrow we all can go.
- 你们 都 用 wiki 吗 ？ Do you all use the wiki?
- 我们 都 要 冰水。 We all want ice water.
都 for "both"
Chinese doesn't normally use a special word for "both" like English does. It just uses 都 (dōu) as if it were any other number greater than one. Chinese also doesn't have a special pattern like "neither / nor" for the negative case. Just use 都 (dōu) and make the sentence negative.
Structure
Subjects + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
This pattern should look familiar.
Examples
These examples follow exactly the same form in Chinese as the ones above. The only difference is that here we don't translate 都 (dōu) as "all" in English; we translate it as "both," and for negative cases, we translate it as "neither."
- 我们 两 个 都 爱 你 。 The two of us both love you.
- 你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 都 是 美国人 吗？ Are your father and your mother both Americans?
- 我 和 我 太太 都 不 吃 肉。 Neither my wife nor I eat meat.
- 你们 两个 都 喜欢 中国 菜 吗？ Do you both like Chinese food?
- 她 和 她 老公 都 没有 工作。 Neither she nor her husband has a job.
