Expressing "all" with 所有, 一切 and 凡是
The pronouns 所有 and 一切 and the adverb 凡是 have the same meaning, but differ slightly in usage.
The pronoun 所有
The pronoun is used to express the entire quantity or extent of something. For example, "all people", "all questions". 所有 can be followed by the following parts of a sentence: 1) the object.
Scheme
subject
predicate
所有
(的)
object
Pay attention
所有 is often followed by the particle .
Examples
我告别了所有朋友
I bade all my friends farewell
wǒ gàobié le suǒyǒu de péngyou
这部影片打破了所有票房纪录
The movie broke all box-office records
zhè bù yǐngpiàn dǎpò le suǒyǒu de piàofáng jìlù
我喜欢所有我妈妈做
I love all the dishes my mom makes
wǒ xǐhuan suǒyǒu wǒ māma zuò de cài
2) the subject. In this case, we should put the adverb between the subject and the predicate.
Scheme
所有
(的)
subject
predicate
Examples
所有房间有阳台或露台
All rooms have a balcony or terrace
suǒyǒu de fángjiān dōu yǒu yángtái huò lùtái
所有走了
Everyone is gone
suǒyǒu rén dōu zǒu le
所有旧地毯需要更换
All old carpets need to be replaced
suǒyǒu de jiù dìtǎn dōu xūyào gēnghuàn
The pronoun 一切
The pronoun is also used to express the entire quantity or extent of something. In a sentence, it is placed before either an object or a subject.
Pay attention
Note that we cannot use the pronoun 一切 when we are talking about people. 一切 cannot be followed by the particle 的.
Examples
我告诉了他一切秘密
I told him all the secrets
wǒ gàosu le tā yíqiè mìmì
我打乱了我一切计划
I messed up all my plans
wǒ dǎluàn le wǒ yíqiè jìhuà
一切问题已经解决了
All problems have been solved
yíqiè wèntí dōu yǐjīng jiějué le
这里一切东西是我的
Everything here is mine
zhèlǐ yíqiè dōngxi dōu shì wǒ de
一切 can also serve as an object and mean "everything".
Examples
你爱他,就爱他的一切
If you love him, you should love everything about him
nǐ ài tā, jiù ài tā de yíqiè
他离开家后,一切靠他自己
When he left home, he was on his own
tā líkāi jiā hòu, yíqiè dōu kào tā zìjǐ
父母给了她一切
Her parents gave her everything
fùmǔ gěi le tā yíqiè
The adverb 凡是
The adverb is used to express the entire quantity of objects, people and phenomena that belong to the same category. 凡是 is placed at the beginning of a sentence before an object which is expressed by either a noun or a noun phrase.
Pay attention
A noun phrase is a phrase in which the main word is a noun.
Scheme
凡是
object
(subject)
predicate
Pay attention
The adverb 都 is often placed after an object or a subject.
Examples
凡是日本的东西她喜欢
She likes everything that’s Japanese
fánshì rìběn de dōngxi tā dōu xǐhuan
凡是有学问的人是勤奋的
All educated people are diligent
fánshì yǒu xuéwèn de rén dōu shì qínfèn de
凡是祝福他的人,他表示感谢
He expressed his gratitude to everyone who blessed him
fánshì zhùfú tā de rén, tā dōu biǎoshì gǎnxiè
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