Pronunciation of 'tous'

MichaelC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Pronunciation of 'tous'

I thought 'tous' was pronounced 'too' unless it was used as a pronoun meaning 'all (of us/them)'.

But in the example:

Je veux que vous ayez tous votre exam.

'tous' is pronounced 'Toos'.

Is this correct? If so, why?

Asked 5 years ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Michael,

Yes , the pronunciation of tous is correct and should sound the 's' .

Take a look at the following lesson for further explanation:

Tout/tous/toute/toutes = Everything/all (of them)/whole/completely in French

Just another little point -

In your answer to Chris, it should be 'je ne le savais pas' as 'savoir' is a verb of state and you will hardly ever hear/see the passé composé used to say, 'I didn't know'.

It's a mistake I often read on this forum from students so just to put things right!

It is the same for verbs like être, sembler, paraître, croire, espérer...

Hope this helps!

 

 

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
It is used pronomially to refer to "vous".
MichaelC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Merci Chris. Je ne l'ai pas su. C'est bon à savoir.
MichaelC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Merci Cécile, je ne le savais pas.
AndreaB2Kwiziq community member
Tout/tous/toute/toutes = Everything/all (of them)/whole/completely in French.  This lesson provides an explanation of the  pronunciation of tous.

Pronunciation of 'tous'

I thought 'tous' was pronounced 'too' unless it was used as a pronoun meaning 'all (of us/them)'.

But in the example:

Je veux que vous ayez tous votre exam.

'tous' is pronounced 'Toos'.

Is this correct? If so, why?

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