Today we’ll have a close look at tout le monde in French, which means “everybody” or “everyone”. The most important aspect to note about tout le monde is that it conjugates with the third-person singular (il/elle) form. We’ll show how this works in the examples.
tout le monde
everyone, everybody
Tout le monde meaning and translation
Phrase origin
We were unable to find the historical origin of the phrase tout le monde (everybody, everyone), which translates literally to “all the world”. However, it’s interseting to note that this exact phrase exists in other Romantic languages. For example, todo el mundo in Spanish.
Example sentences
In the first three example sentences, you’ll see that tout le monde is the subject and that the corresponding verbs are conjugated in the third-person singular (il/elle) form. For example, “tout le monde parle” (everybody speaks). The common mistake of using the third-person plural form: “tout le monde parlent”.
Tout le monde parle français en France.
Everybody speaks French in France.
Tout le monde aime manger la glace !
Everybody likes ice cream!
Heureusement tout le monde me comprend.
Luckily everybody understands me.
In this example sentence, you’ll see that tout le monde is the object and not the subject.
J’organise une fête pour samedi soir et j’invite tout le monde.
I’m planning a party for Saturday evenving and I’m inviting everybody.
Our final example sentence is in the passé composé, a commonly used French past tense. Here, you’ll see that “everybody wished me” is written “tout le monde m’a souhaité” The auxiliary verb in the third-person singular. Hence, writing “tout le monde m’ont souhaité“ would be the common mistake and that’s wrong.
Tout le monde m’a souhaité un bon anniversaire à ma fête samedi passé.
Everybody wished me a happy birthday at my party last Saturday.
French Lessons by David Issokson
Related lessons
References
