Confusion around ce que

Question

If ce qui/ ce que is supposed to be used to refer to a part of a sentence/ an idea, instead of just a single word, then why does this sentence use ce que?:

"C'est tout ce que j'ai dit"

I know that 'tout' could be considered a general idea, but why is ce que not used in this sentence, when 'quelque chose' is also a general idea?:

"C'est quelque chose que j'ai dit"

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Elliott et al.
It is indeed an interesting question.
You have to use 'ce que' and 'ce qui' after 'tout' -

Tu ne vas croire tout ce qui m'arrive != You will not believe everything (that is) happening to me!
Tout ce que je demande, c'est qu'on m'écoute = All I ask is to be listened to 
Tout ce que je sais, c'est qu'il n'est plus en France = All that I know is that he is no longer in France

It would be the same after 'rien de' -

Rien de ce que tu dis n'a de sens= Nothing that you say makes sense
Rien de ce qui est arrivé n'était prévu = Nothing that happened was planned

Also, after 'beaucoup de'
 
Beaucoup de ce que tu dis est vrai = Much of what you say is true
Beaucoup de ce qui a été dit est faux = Much of what was said is false
I am sure there are others but can't think of any more at the moment.
Bonne Continuation !

Jim Jones · Answer

Bonjour Elliot,Your proposal is to substitute "all that I have said" with "something that I have said"?I suggest that the two sentences are not equivalent.Bonne journéeJim

Chris Wirt · Answer

That's a good question. Tout, indeed, represents a general group of ideas an not a single item, hence ce que is used to refer to it. In the sentence C'est quelque chose que j'ai dit, "quelque chose" stands for a particular thing, even though that particular thing might not be known.