Todo (All, Every, Whole) | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

Todo is one of those small words that means a lot. Depending on how you use it, it can mean all, every, the whole, or everything. It agrees in gender and number like any other adjective, and it has a special habit: it usually sits before an article and noun, not in place of them.

The Four Forms

Masc. sing.	Fem. sing.	Masc. pl.	Fem. pl.
todo	toda	todos	todas

The Key Pattern: Todo + Article + Noun

Unlike most determiners, todo doesn't replace the article — it comes before the full article + noun combination.

Todo el día estuve estudiando.

I was studying the whole day.

Todos los días camino al trabajo.

Every day I walk to work.

Note the meaning shift between singular and plural:

todo el día = the whole day
todos los días = every day

This pattern carries across time words: toda la semana (the whole week) vs. todas las semanas (every week), todo el año (the whole year) vs. todos los años (every year).

All, Everybody, Everything

Todo el mundo quiere ser feliz.

Everybody wants to be happy.

Literally all the world, this phrase is Spanish's standard way to say everyone.

Todos nosotros estamos invitados a la boda.

All of us are invited to the wedding.

Here todos goes directly before the pronoun nosotros. You can also say todos los estudiantes, todas las mujeres, etc. — the todo+article+noun pattern still applies.

Todo as a Pronoun

Standing alone, todo means everything.

Todo está listo para la fiesta.

Everything is ready for the party.

Lo sabe todo.

He/she knows everything.

Note the little lo: when todo is the object of a verb, Spanish often doubles it with lo for emphasis. Lo sé todo (I know it all).

Todos as "Everyone"

In the masculine plural, todos (or feminine todas) standing alone means everyone, everybody.

Todos llegaron temprano a la reunión.

Everyone arrived early at the meeting.

Todas queremos lo mismo.

We (f) all want the same thing.

Todo as "Very" or "Completely"

In one striking colloquial use, todo acts almost like an adverb meaning completely, all, and it still agrees with what it describes:

La niña estaba toda mojada después de jugar en la lluvia.

The little girl was all wet after playing in the rain.

Summary Table

Pattern	Meaning	Example
todo el + sing. noun	the whole X	todo el libro
todos los + pl. noun	every X / all the X's	todos los libros
todo (pronoun)	everything	Veo todo.
todos (pronoun)	everyone	Todos vinieron.
todo + adjective	all/completely X	toda mojada

💡

To say every day always reach for todos los días, not cada día. Both exist, but todos los días is by far the most natural — cada día is more emphatic and poetic, closer to each and every day.

💡

When todo sits before a subject pronoun or name, no article is needed: todos ustedes, todas nosotras, todo México. The article only appears when there is a common noun to attach to.

Todo comes up in every single Spanish conversation. Master its patterns and you'll be saying every day, the whole weekend, all of us, everything without a second thought.