Olá a todos! Tudo bem com vocês? (Hey all!! Everything alright with you?)
The words tudo e todo in Portuguese are very similar, not only in spelling, but also in meaning. To avoid confusion, today’s post will make a distinction between the two pronouns and provide some examples:
Tudo (everything) means the totality of things, the opposite of nothing.
It is invariable, so it never alters according to gender or number.
- Minha mãe e eu falamos sobre tudo (My mom and I talk about everything)
- Essa família é tudo para mim (This family is everything to me)
- Tudo é possível nesse país (Everything is possible in this country)
- O furacão destruiu tudo (The hurricane destroyed everything)
- Eu ouvi tudo que você disse (I heard everything you said)
- Os ladrões levaram tudo? (Did the robbers take everything?)
- Tudo me incomoda quando estou com dor de cabeça (Everything bothers me when I have a headache)
Todo (all, every) means the whole or each.
It can be plural and varies according to gender: todo (singular masculine form), toda (single feminine form), todos (plural masculine form), todas (plural feminine form)
todo dia – toda manhã – todos carros – todas casas
There are two possible forms:
Todo = idea of any, or each, total of elements in a group, a generalization
- Todo casal tem seus problemas (Each couple has its problems)
- Todos homens são iguais (All men are equal)
- Todas criancas choram (All children cry)
- Eles saem para jantar toda noite (They go out to dinner every night)
- Todo mundo gosta desse filme (Every person likes this movie)
- Todas mulheres merecem respeito (All women deserve respect)
Todo + an article = idea of wholeness, totality:
- Eu gosto de todas as músicas de Chico Buarque (I like all Chico Buarque songs)
- É importante se exercitar todos os dias (It is important to exercise every day)
- Minha mãe já leu todos os livros de Machado de Assis (My mom has read all of Machado de Assis’s books)
- Meu sobrinho comeu a torta toda (My nephew ate the whole pie)
- Você já gastou o dinheiro todo? (Did you spend the whole money?)
- Ele ficou doente durante a viagem toda (He was sick during the whole trip)
Entenderam tudo? Lembrem-se de praticar português todo dia! (Did you understand everything? Remember to practice Portuguese every day!)
