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A1 Beginner Sentence Structure

How to Say “All” & “Both” with 都 (dōu)

都 (dōu) means “all” — and “both”, and (with a negative) “neither”. The catch: it goes AFTER the subject, never up front like English “all”.

Why this trips learners up

English lets you open a sentence with “all”: “All of us are coming.” So when you learn that 都 (dōu) means “all” in Chinese, the instinct is to drop it up front — 都我们来. Almost every beginner does it, and it's the placement teachers correct over and over.

都 is an adverb, and Chinese adverbs sit after the subject, right before the verb: 我们都来. One more surprise — Chinese has no separate word for “both” or “neither”. 都 covers them all: with two people it reads as “both”, and with a negative verb it becomes “neither”. Same little word, three English translations.

The structure

Subject 都 dōu VerbObject
Colour key

Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.

Pattern Subject Verb Object Time Negation Function word Adjective Question

Examples in context

Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.

Tap a word to see its grammatical role.

wǒmen 我们 Subject dōu 都 Pattern è 饿 Adjective le 了 Function word

We're all hungry.

tāmen 他们 Subject dōu 都 Pattern xǐhuan 喜欢 Verb zhè shǒu gē 这首歌 Object

They all like this song.

wǒ jiějie hé wǒ mèimei 我姐姐和我妹妹 Subject dōu 都 Pattern jiéhūn 结婚 Verb le 了 Function word

Both my sisters are married.

wǒ hé wǒ shìyǒu 我和我室友 Subject dōu 都 Pattern bú 不 Negation huì 会 Function word zuòfàn 做饭 Verb

Neither my roommate nor I can cook.

nǐmen 你们 Subject dōu 都 Pattern kàn 看 Verb guò 过 Function word zhè bù diànyǐng 这部电影 Object ma 吗 Question

Have you all seen this movie?

zhè jǐ jiā fànguǎn 这几家饭馆 Subject zhōumò 周末 Time dōu 都 Pattern méi 没 Negation yǒu 有 Verb wèizi 位子 Object

None of these restaurants have a free table on weekends.

Common mistakes

Avoid: 都我们喜欢咖啡。 dōu wǒmen xǐhuan kāfēi.
Say this: 我们都喜欢咖啡。 wǒmen dōu xǐhuan kāfēi.

Why it happens: English front-loads “all”, so 都我们 feels natural — but 都 is an adverb, and Chinese adverbs go after the subject and before the verb. Always 我们都…, never 都我们….

Avoid: 我都去过这些城市。 wǒ dōu qùguò zhèxiē chéngshì.
Say this: 这些城市我都去过。 zhèxiē chéngshì wǒ dōu qùguò.

Why it happens: 都 sums up something to its left, not its right. To say you've been to all these cities, the cities come first: 这些城市我都去过. Lead with 我 and 都 has nothing plural to point back to.

Avoid: 他们都也来了。 tāmen dōu yě lái le.
Say this: 他们也都来了。 tāmen yě dōu lái le.

Why it happens: When “also” (也) and “all” (都) appear together, 也 comes first: 也都. So it's 他们也都来了 — “they all came too” — never 都也.

Compare & contrast

都不 — none / neither不都 — not allThe difference
他们都不抽烟。tāmen dōu bù chōuyān.他们不都抽烟。tāmen bù dōu chōuyān.都 then 不 = “all → not” = nobody does it. Flip them — 不 then 都 = “not → all” = not everybody (so, some do).
这些题我都不会。zhèxiē tí wǒ dōu bú huì.这些题我不都会。zhèxiē tí wǒ bù dōu huì.都不会 means you can't do a single one. 不都会 means you can't do all of them — i.e. you can do some.
Rule of thumbOrder decides the meaning: 都 + 不/没 = none. 不 + 都 = not all. Whichever negator comes first wins — so put 都 first when you mean “none at all”.

Try it yourself

Say “They are all students” — tap the words into the right order.

Related patterns

都Why You Need 都 (dōu) with “Many,” “Everyone” and “Every”

The same 都, a different job — keeping it after 很多 / 大家 / 每, where English drops “all”.

 一直一直 (yīzhí): “All Along,” “The Whole Time,” “Always”

一直 often teams up with 都 for emphasis — 一直都 (“all along, the whole time”).

 也How to Say “Also” / “Too” with 也 (yě)

也都 — when “also” meets “all”, 也 always goes first.

 只只 (zhǐ): How to Say “Only”

只’s mirror image: 都 opens the scope to everything, 只 shuts it down to one.

 和How to Say “And” with 和 (hé)

和…都 — 和 lists the nouns, 都 says “all of them”.

 不Negating with 不 (bù): “Don't” & “Isn't”

Pair 都 with 不 and the word order flips “none” into “not all”.

 没有How to Say “Don't Have” (没有)

都没有 — saying that none of them have something.

 我吃饭How to Build a Basic Chinese Sentence

都 is an adverb — it slots into the basic order before the verb.

 或者或者 (huòzhě): How to Say “Or” in Statements

或者 leans on 都 to finish the thought: 茶或者咖啡都行 (“either is fine”) — options first, then 都 sums them up.

 有的How to Say “Some… Others…” with 有的 (yǒude)

The opposite reach: 都 sweeps the WHOLE group (“all”), 有的…有的… splits it into parts (“some…, some…”).

 每个人How to Say “Every” with 每 (měi)

每…都 is the classic pairing: 每 picks out each one, this 都 sweeps back over all of them.

 全Indicating the Whole with 全 (quán)

全 leans on this 都 too (全家都), and shares its negation logic: 全都不 (none) vs 不全都 (not all) mirrors 都不 vs 不都.

 都…了How to Say “Already” (Emphatically) with 都…了 (dōu … le)

The other 都: here it means “all” (我们都去); the 都 of 都九点了 means “already” — same character, different job.

 从来都How to Say “Always” with 从来都 (cónglái dōu)

This 都 is the obligatory partner that turns 从来 positive: 从来都 = “always” (vs the negative 从来不/没 = “never”).

 就How to Say “Only” with 就 (jiù)

就 is the natural answer to 都: 大家都走了，就他还在 (“everyone left, only he is still here”). 都 covers all, 就 picks the exception.

 等 / 等等How to Say “Etc.” with 等 and 等等 (děng / děngděng)

等 and 都 team up: list the items with 等, then sum them up with 都 — 北京、上海等城市都很发达 (“cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are all developed”).

 所有How to Say “All of” with 所有 (suǒyǒu)

所有 is the noun-side of this 都: 所有 marks the noun as “all of” (所有的书), and a 所有 subject still needs 都 in the predicate (所有人都走了).

 连……都How to Say “Even” with 连……都 (lián… dōu)

The emphatic partner of 都: 连…都… uses this same 都 to spotlight a surprise, 连小孩都知道 (“even a kid knows”). 连 sets up the least likely item, 都 lands the point.

 每次……都How to Say “Every Time” with 每次……都 (měi cì… dōu)

The recurring 都: in 每次…都 this same 都 sweeps over every occurrence of an action (每次来都带花), the ordinary adverb doing its usual pre-verb job.

 除了…以外How to Say “Except” and “Besides” in Chinese (除了……以外)

This is the 都 that flips 除了 to “except.” 除了 X…都… leaves X out and sweeps up all the rest (除了他，我们都去过). The 都 is the tell: without it, 除了 slides toward “in addition.”

 都怪你How to Say “It’s All Your Fault” with 都怪你 (dōu guài nǐ)

The emphatic side of 都. Everyday 都 totals a plural subject into “all” (他们都走了); pointed at a culprit it becomes blame, 都怪你 (“it’s all your fault”). Same “all,” aimed at someone.

 甚至How to Say “Even” with 甚至 (shènzhì)

The echo behind 甚至. When 甚至 caps a list, the predicate usually closes with 都 (甚至阿拉伯语都会), where 都 reinforces the extreme item rather than sweeping a group. 甚至 names the surprising case; 都 backs it up.

 几乎How to Say “Nearly / Almost” with 几乎 (jīhū)

The “almost” that leans on 都. To say “almost all,” 几乎 rides in front of a totality word plus 都: 几乎每个人都…, 几乎所有…都…. 都 sums up the group; 几乎 pulls it back to “almost all of them.”
Quick reference card
Merry Mandarin How to Say “All” & “Both” with 都 (dōu) grammar.merrymandarin.com

A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.

Structure
Subject + 都 + Verb + Object
Example
我们都饿了
We're all hungry.
Watch out
✗ 都我们喜欢咖啡。  →  ✓ 我们都喜欢咖啡。