Agreement of tout

Brian E.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Agreement of tout

In “dont les noms sont tout aussi appétissants”, why doesn’t “tout” agree with the subject (“les noms”)? I was expecting to see “tous”. 

Asked 2 years ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Brian, 

The rules which decree when to agree the adverb 'tout' with the thing they modify are complex so  I advise you to work through the following lesson.

Tout, tous, toute, toutes = Everything, all (of them), whole

In 'tout appétissants',  'tout' is an adverb and doesn't change when the adjective is masculine. In the case of feminine adjectives, the rules are even more complicated.

Hope this helps!

 

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Tout in this sentence is used as an adjective: tout appétissants, not as an adjective for noms.

Tous les noms sont appétissants. -- All the names are appetizing.
Les noms sont tout appétissants. -- The names are entirely appetizing. (Or, more colloquially: the names are totally appetizing.)

Paul F.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Chris's answer may be a little confusing because he inadvertently wrote "adjective" instead of "adverb" in the first bit of his reply. "Tout" is an adverb when modifying "appétissants" here, and not an adjective for "noms". Apart from that little slip, his answer is correct. 

Agreement of tout

In “dont les noms sont tout aussi appétissants”, why doesn’t “tout” agree with the subject (“les noms”)? I was expecting to see “tous”. 

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