B1 Advanced Quantities & Measures

Indicating the Whole with 全 (quán)

全 (quán) means “whole / entire / all.” Stick it on a noun for “the whole [X]” — 全家都 (“the whole family”), 全世界都 (“the whole world”) — paired with 都, and never with 的. Or use 全都 before a verb for “all / entirely.” The tricky part is negation: position decides “none” vs “not all.”

Why this trips learners up

全 (quán) marks the entirety of something. The first use is right before a noun: 全 + Noun + 都 + Predicate = “the whole [noun]…”. 全家都去过北京 (“the whole family has been to Beijing”), 全世界都很有名 (“famous all over the world”), 全身发抖 (“the whole body shaking”). Two rules: 全 attaches straight to the noun, never with 的 (全公司, not 全的公司), and it pairs with 都 in the predicate, just like 每. It favours a set of nouns — 身 (body), 家 (family), 国 (country), 世界 (world), 校 (school), 天 (day), 年 (year)…

The second use is right before a verb: Subject + 全都 + Predicate = “all / entirely.” 桌上的菜我们全都吃光了 (“we ate up all the food”), 大家全都到了 (“everyone’s arrived”). Here 全 just adds emphasis to the 都.

Now the part that really trips people up — negation, where the position of 不/没 changes the meaning completely. Put the negator after 全都 and it’s total: 全都 + 不/没 = “none / not at all.” 他全都没回 (“he didn’t reply to any of them”). Put the negator before 全都 and it’s partial: 不/没 + 全都 = “not all.” 我没全都做对 (“I didn’t get them all right” — some, but not all).

It’s exactly the logic of 都不 (“none”) vs 不都 (“not all”): whichever comes first wins. Negator first → “not all”; 全都 first → “none.”

The structure

全 quán Subject 都 dōu Verb

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 Complement Time Negation Adverb Function word Adjective Connector

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.

zhè shǒu gē 这首歌 Subject quán 全 Pattern shìjiè 世界 Subject dōu 都 Adverb hěn yǒumíng 很有名 Adjective

This song is famous all over the world (全世界 + 都).

quán 全 Pattern bān 班 Subject dōu 都 Adverb xǐhuan 喜欢 Verb zhège lǎoshī 这个老师 Object

The whole class likes this teacher (全班 + 都).

wǒ 我 Subject lěng de 冷得 Adjective quán 全 Pattern shēn 身 Subject fādǒu 发抖 Verb

I was so cold my whole body was shaking (全身).

zhuō shàng de cài 桌上的菜 Object wǒmen 我们 Subject quán 全 Pattern dōu 都 Adverb chī 吃 Verb guāng 光 Complement le 了 Function word

We ate up all the food on the table (全都 + verb).

wǒ fā de xiāoxi 我发的消息 Object tā 他 Subject quán 全 Pattern dōu 都 Adverb méi 没 Negation huí 回 Verb

He didn’t reply to any of the messages I sent (全都没 — total: “none”).

zhèxiē tí tài nán le 这些题太难了 Time wǒ 我 Subject méi 没 Negation quán 全 Pattern dōu 都 Adverb zuò duì 做对 Verb

These questions were too hard; I didn’t get them all right (没全都 — partial: “not all”).

tā de jiànyì búcuò 他的建议不错 Time dàn 但 Connector wǒ 我 Subject bù 不 Negation quán 全 Pattern dōu 都 Adverb jiēshòu 接受 Verb

His suggestions are good, but I don’t accept all of them (不全都 — partial).

zhè jiā yīyuàn 这家医院 Subject quán 全 Pattern tiān 天 Time dōu 都 Adverb yǒu 有 Verb yīshēng 医生 Object zhíbān 值班 Verb

This hospital has doctors on duty all day (全天 + 都).

Common mistakes

Avoid: 他说得有道理，我全都不同意。 tā shuō de yǒu dàolǐ, wǒ quán dōu bù tóngyì.

Say this: 他说得有道理，我不全都同意。 tā shuō de yǒu dàolǐ, wǒ bù quán dōu tóngyì.

Why it happens: Position of the negator flips the scope. 全都 + 不/没 = TOTAL (“none / not at all”). 不/没 + 全都 = PARTIAL (“not all”). “I don’t agree with all of it” is 我不全都同意; 我全都不同意 would mean “I agree with none of it.”

Avoid: 全的公司都放假了。 quán de gōngsī dōu fàngjià le.

Say this: 全公司都放假了。 quán gōngsī dōu fàngjià le.

Why it happens: 全 attaches straight to the noun — never with 的. It’s 全公司, 全家, 全身 — not 全的公司.

Avoid: 全家去过北京。 quán jiā qù guo běijīng.

Say this: 全家都去过北京。 quán jiā dōu qù guo běijīng.

Why it happens: 全 + noun needs 都 in the predicate, just like 每: 全家都去过北京, not 全家去过北京. 全 marks the whole; 都 sweeps it.

Compare & contrast

全都 + 不/没 — total (“none”)	不/没 + 全都 — partial (“not all”)	The difference
全都没吃quán dōu méi chī	没全都吃méi quán dōu chī	全都没吃 = “didn’t eat any of it” (none). 没全都吃 = “didn’t eat all of it” (some left). The negator’s position is the whole difference.
全都不同意quán dōu bù tóngyì	不全都同意bù quán dōu tóngyì	全都不同意 = “agree with none of it”; 不全都同意 = “don’t agree with all of it.” Negator after 全都 → total; before → partial.

Rule of thumbPosition of the negator decides the scope. 全都 + 不/没 (negator AFTER) = TOTAL — “none / not at all” (全都没去). 不/没 + 全都 (negator BEFORE) = PARTIAL — “not all” (没全都去). Same logic as 都不 (none) vs 不都 (not all): whichever comes first wins.

Try it yourself

Say “The whole family loves this dog.” — 全 + noun + 都 + verb.

Related patterns

Quick reference card

Indicating the Whole with 全 (quán) grammar.merrymandarin.com

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

Structure

全 + Subject + 都 + Verb

Example

这首歌全世界都很有名

This song is famous all over the world (全世界 + 都).

Watch out

✗ 他说得有道理，我全都不同意。 → ✓ 他说得有道理，我不全都同意。