I can say how many people and things: “tous les jours”, “quelques cadeaux”, “la plupart des jeunes”, “vingt pour cent des adultes” — and I won't say “chaque jours”.
How many: tout, quelques, plusieurs, chaque
How many: tout, quelques, plusieurs, chaque
This lesson is about quantity: how many people and things there are in a story about a festival and in a survey of who watches and listens to what.
Tout changes for gender and number, and is always followed by an article or a possessive: tout le spectacle, toute la ville, tous les jours, toutes les chansons. In tous before a noun the s is silent: tous les jours sounds [tu]. Without a noun, the s of tous is pronounced: Ils sont tous là — [tus]. In the passé composé, tous goes right after the auxiliary: Ils ont tous aimé ce spectacle.
Quelques means “a few”, two or three, and the plural follows: quelques cadeaux. Plusieurs means “several”, more than a few, and never changes: plusieurs concerts. Chaque means “each, every” and is always followed by the singular, with no s: chaque jour. Same meaning: chaque jour = tous les jours.
Quantity words: assez de, trop de, la plupart de, la moitié de. After de, the article contracts: la plupart des jeunes, la moitié du public. French needs des, unlike English “most young people”.
Percentages are said in words: vingt pour cent des adultes. Pour cent is written as two words. Survey age groups: les enfants, les jeunes, les adultes.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “chaque jours” → chaque jour.
• NOT “tout les jours” → tous les jours.
• NOT “plusieurs concert” → plusieurs concerts.
• NOT “la plupart de les jeunes” → la plupart des jeunes.
The five forms of tout
Before a noun, tout is followed by an article or a possessive; without a noun, tous is a pronoun.
| Form | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| tout le | tout le concert | masculine singular |
| toute la | toute la ville | feminine singular |
| tous les | tous les jours | masculine plural; the s is silent, so it sounds [tu] |
| toutes les | toutes les chansons | feminine plural |
| tous without a noun | Ils sont tous là. | here the s is pronounced, so it sounds [tus] |
Exactly how many: quantity words and percent
What matters is the number of the noun after the word and de merging with the article.
| Word | Singular or plural | Example |
|---|---|---|
| quelques (two or three) | plural | quelques idées |
| plusieurs (more than a few) | plural, the form doesn't change | plusieurs spectacles |
| chaque | singular | chaque semaine |
| assez de, trop de | with a noun, no article | assez de places |
| la plupart de | contraction: la plupart des | la plupart des adultes |
| la moitié de | contraction: la moitié du | la moitié du public |
| percent | said in words | vingt pour cent des jeunes |
Lesson notes
How many: tout, quelques, plusieurs, chaque
This lesson is about quantity: how many people and things there are in a story about a festival and in a survey of who watches and listens to what.
Tout changes for gender and number, and is always followed by an article or a possessive: tout le spectacle, toute la ville, tous les jours, toutes les chansons. In tous before a noun the s is silent: tous les jours sounds [tu]. Without a noun, the s of tous is pronounced: Ils sont tous là — [tus]. In the passé composé, tous goes right after the auxiliary: Ils ont tous aimé ce spectacle.
Quelques means “a few”, two or three, and the plural follows: quelques cadeaux. Plusieurs means “several”, more than a few, and never changes: plusieurs concerts. Chaque means “each, every” and is always followed by the singular, with no s: chaque jour. Same meaning: chaque jour = tous les jours.
Quantity words: assez de, trop de, la plupart de, la moitié de. After de, the article contracts: la plupart des jeunes, la moitié du public. French needs des, unlike English “most young people”.
Percentages are said in words: vingt pour cent des adultes. Pour cent is written as two words. Survey age groups: les enfants, les jeunes, les adultes.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “chaque jours” → chaque jour.
• NOT “tout les jours” → tous les jours.
• NOT “plusieurs concert” → plusieurs concerts.
• NOT “la plupart de les jeunes” → la plupart des jeunes.