vous tous
The English phrase "you all" is translated into French as vous tous.
The phrase vous tous is a pronoun used to address a group of two or more people. It is typically used for emphasis or to specify that the speaker is addressing every single person in a group.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the second-person plural pronoun vous (you) and the masculine plural adjective tous (all).
Which one should you use?
While vous alone can mean "you" (plural), adding tous emphasizes the entirety of the group, similar to the English distinction between "you" and "you all".
Is it said differently in some regions?
The expression vous autres is commonly used in certain regions, such as Quebec, as an informal way to express "you all".
How does it change in a sentence?
If the group being addressed consists entirely of women, tous changes to the feminine form toutes, resulting in vous toutes.
Did you know?
- In certain Occitan dialects, the way to say 'you all' is vosautres, which serves as a linguistic ancestor to the Quebecois vous autres.
- If a speaker addresses a group of ten men and one woman, they must use vous tous, but if there are ten women and one man, they still use vous tous.
- While vous is used for 'you all', it is also used as a formal singular 'you' to show respect to one person.
Examples in context
- Qui êtes-vous tous ?Who are you all?This sentence is useful for asking who everyone in the group is.Tatoeba #965506 by sacredceltic, translation #952790 by CK
- Où vivez-vous tous ?Where do you all live?This sentence is useful for asking where everyone in the group lives.Tatoeba #1383032 by sacredceltic, translation #687610 by lukaszpp
- Où allez-vous tous ?Where are you all going?This sentence is useful for asking where everyone in the group is going.Tatoeba #4871875 by sacredceltic, translation #2892764 by CK
- Bonjour à vous tous.Hello to all of you.
- Je vous invite à la réunion.I invite you all to the meeting.
- Comment allez-vous tous ?How are all of you?
- Je vous souhaite à tous une bonne journée.I wish you all a good day.
- 37 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma is greeting Nathan and his friends at a party.
- EmmaSalut ! Je suis ravie de vous voir vous tous.Hi! I am delighted to see you all.
- NathanC'est gentil, Emma. On est contents aussi.That's kind, Emma. We are happy too.
- EmmaEst-ce que vous tous avez faim ?Are you all hungry?
- NathanOui, on a très faim !Yes, we are very hungry!
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
