Learn French: Elle dit toujours toute la vérité. - She always tells the whole truth.

When using tout (or its forms like toute) to mean 'the whole' or 'all of the', French requires a definite article between it and the noun. Because vérité is feminine singular, we use the feminine singular adjective toute followed by the feminine singular article la.

Does toute mean 'all' or 'the whole'?

It can mean both depending on whether the noun is singular or plural! Because la vérité is singular, toute la vérité translates to 'the whole truth'. If the noun were plural, like toutes les règles (all the rules), it translates to 'all'.

Why is toujours placed after the verb dit? In English we say 'always tells'.

French sentence structure places short adverbs like toujours (always) immediately after the conjugated verb. So instead of saying 'She always tells', you literally say 'She tells always' (Elle dit toujours).

What verb is dit and why does it translate to 'tells' instead of 'says'?

Dit is the he/she/it present tense form of the irregular verb dire. While dire usually translates to 'to say', it is also the standard verb used for 'to tell' when you are talking about telling the truth, telling a lie, or telling a story.