Predeterminers and Totality (tot, amândoi, întreg) | Romanian Grammar

A predeterminer is a word that sits in front of an already-determined noun phrase — outside the article, outside the demonstrative — to say something about the whole of it: all, both, the whole. Romanian's totality words behave in a way that startles English speakers: instead of replacing the article (as English "all children" drops "the"), tot sits outside the article and lets the noun keep its definite ending. Toți copiii literally reads "all the-children." This page covers tot and its totality cousins — întreg, amândoi, fiecare — and the article rule that ties them together.

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The core insight: tot is a PREdeterminer — it lives outside the article. So the noun keeps its enclitic definite article: toți copiii ('all the-children'), tot orașul ('all the-city'). This is the opposite of English, where "all" pushes "the" out: "all children," not "all the children."

tot / toată / toți / toate — "all, the whole"

Tot is the central totality word, agreeing in gender and number across four forms:

	Masculine	Feminine
singular	tot (orașul)	toată (ziua)
plural	toți (copiii)	toate (casele)

The defining trait: tot requires its noun to be definite — it takes the articled form, not a bare noun. Singular tot / toată pairs with a definite noun to mean "the whole":

Am muncit toată ziua.

I worked all day / the whole day. (ziua = ziu + a, definite)

A dormit tot drumul până acasă.

He slept the whole way home. (drumul = drum + ul, definite)

Plural toți / toate with a definite noun means "all (of)":

Toți copiii s-au întors la timp.

All the children came back on time. (copiii = copii + i)

Toate casele de pe stradă sunt vechi.

All the houses on the street are old. (casele = case + le)

Why does Romanian keep the article where English drops it? Because tot is a quantifier over a definite set: "all" presupposes you already know which children — the definite ones — and then sums over them. English signals that presupposition by position and intonation; Romanian signals it overtly by keeping the definite article on the noun and stacking tot on top. The article isn't redundant — it marks the very set that tot totalizes.

Toți studenții din grupa mea au promovat.

All the students in my group passed. (definite studenții)

întreg / întreagă — "the whole, entire"

Întreg (m.) / întreagă (f.) means "whole / entire" and is a near-synonym of singular tot in the "the whole" sense — but it behaves like an adjective, so it can either follow the definite noun or precede a definite phrase. The two patterns are both correct:

Am citit întreaga carte într-o noapte.

I read the whole book in one night. (preposed întreaga + definite phrase)

Am citit cartea întreagă într-o noapte.

I read the whole book in one night. (postposed: cartea întreagă)

A tăcut tot timpul / întregul timp.

He was silent the whole time. (tot timpul or întregul timp — both work)

Note the spelling: întreg opens with î (word-initial), and the plural/feminine forms keep it — întreagă, întregi, întregul, întreaga. Don't confuse it with în- prefix words; here the î is just the word's first letter.

amândoi / amândouă — "both"

Amândoi (m.) / amândouă (f.) means "both" — totality over exactly two. Like tot, it stands outside the article and the noun keeps its definite ending. There is also the more emphatic ambii / ambele (somewhat more formal/literary).

Amândoi copiii vorbesc trei limbi.

Both children speak three languages. (definite copiii)

Amândouă surorile lucrează în străinătate.

Both sisters work abroad. (definite surorile)

Ambele propuneri au fost respinse.

Both proposals were rejected. (ambele — slightly more formal)

When "both" stands alone without a noun ("both of them came"), use amândoi / amândouă as a pronoun: Au venit amândoi ("Both of them came").

Le-am invitat pe amândouă.

I invited both of them. (standalone, feminine → amândouă)

fiecare — "each, every"

Fiecare ("each / every") is a totality-adjacent word but works the opposite way to tot: it is distributive and singular — it picks the members of a set out one at a time — so it takes a bare singular noun (no article) and a singular verb. Where tot sums a definite set, fiecare runs through it member by member.

Fiecare copil a primit un cadou.

Each child got a present. (bare singular copil, singular verb)

Fiecare zi aduce ceva nou.

Each day brings something new.

So the article contrast is stark: toți copiii (totality, definite plural, article kept) vs fiecare copil (distributive, bare singular, no article). They quantify the same set in two different ways. Fiecare also has a genitive-dative fiecărui / fiecărei (see indefinite determiners).

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Contrast the two strategies on one set: toți copiii takes the whole group at once (definite, article kept), while fiecare copil walks through them one by one (bare, singular). Same children, opposite grammar.

tot before a demonstrative

Tot can stack over a demonstrative too, again staying outside it: toți acești copii ("all these children"). The demonstrative supplies definiteness, so the noun stays bare after the preposed acești — but tot still sits on the very outside.

Toți acești oameni așteaptă de o oră.

All these people have been waiting for an hour.

For how tot combines with numerals and the cel-buffer in longer phrases (toți cei trei studenți), see determiner order in the noun phrase.

Common Mistakes

The dominant error is importing the English "all children" pattern and dropping the article.

Don't drop the definite article after tot — the noun stays definite:

❌ toți copii

Incorrect — tot keeps the noun definite: toți copiii ('all the-children').

✅ toți copiii

all the children

Don't use a bare noun after singular tot / toată:

❌ toată zi

Incorrect — tot requires the definite noun: toată ziua.

✅ toată ziua

all day / the whole day

Don't make fiecare plural or give it an article — it's distributive and singular:

❌ fiecare copiii / fiecare copii

Incorrect — fiecare takes a bare singular noun: fiecare copil.

✅ fiecare copil

each child

Don't keep the noun bare after amândoi — "both" wants the definite noun:

❌ amândoi copii

Incorrect — both keeps the noun definite: amândoi copiii.

✅ amândoi copiii

both children

Don't mismatch gender on the totality word:

❌ toți casele

Gender mismatch — case is feminine, so toate casele.

✅ toate casele

all the houses

Key Takeaways

tot / toată / toți / toate is a predeterminer: it sits outside the article, so the noun keeps its definite ending — toți copiii ("all the-children"), tot orașul ("the whole city").
This is the opposite of English, where "all" pushes "the" out ("all children").
întreg / întreagă = "the whole," adjective-like, pre- or post-posed on a definite phrase.
amândoi / amândouă (or formal ambii / ambele) = "both," also outside the article, noun stays definite.
fiecare = "each," the distributive opposite of tot: bare singular noun, singular verb.
Master pair to remember: toți copiii (totality, article kept) vs fiecare copil (distributive, bare).

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