Learn French: J'ai répondu à tous et à toutes. - I answered everyone m and everyone f.

J'ai répondu à tous et à toutes.

I answered everyone (m) and everyone (f).

Breakdown of J'ai répondu à tous et à toutes.

and

avoir

to have

at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)

Questions & Answers about J'ai répondu à tous et à toutes.

Is the 's' pronounced in tous in this sentence?

Yes, you pronounce the 's' like a sharp /s/ sound here. When tous stands alone as a pronoun meaning everyone or all of them, the 's' is always pronounced. If it were an adjective describing a noun, the 's' would be silent.

Why is the preposition à repeated before toutes?

In French, the short prepositions à, de, and en must be repeated before every item they apply to in a list. Because the verb is répondre à (to answer someone), you must repeat the à for both pronouns.

If the masculine plural tous already covers a mixed group, why add et à toutes?

Grammatically, tous alone can mean everyone for a mixed crowd. However, saying tous et toutes (or toutes et tous) is a very common rhetorical choice to be explicitly inclusive of both men and women.

Could I just say J'ai répondu à tout le monde instead?

Yes, tout le monde is a perfect synonym for everyone here. Using à tous et à toutes just sounds a bit more formal and emphasizes the individuals rather than the crowd as a single unit.