Todos querem justiça.

Breakdown of Todos querem justiça.

querer
to want
todos
everyone
a justiça
justice

Questions & Answers about Todos querem justiça.

Why is it querem and not quer?

Because todos is plural.

  • ele/ela quer = he/she wants
  • eles/elas querem = they want

Here, todos works like they / everyone, so the verb has to be in the 3rd person plural:

  • Todos querem justiça. = Everyone wants justice.
What exactly does todos mean here?

In this sentence, todos means everyone or all people.

It is literally the masculine plural form of todo (all / every), but in real usage todos can function as a pronoun meaning everyone.

So:

  • Todos querem justiça. = Everyone wants justice.

Depending on context, it can also feel like All of them want justice.

Why is todos masculine? Does it only refer to men?

No. In Portuguese, the masculine plural is often used for a mixed group or for people in general.

So todos can mean:

  • all men
  • a mixed group of men and women
  • people in general

If you are talking about a group of only women, you would say:

  • Todas querem justiça.
Why is there no article before justiça?

Portuguese often uses abstract nouns without an article, especially in general statements.

So:

  • Todos querem justiça. = Everyone wants justice.

This sounds natural and means justice in a broad, general sense.

If you say a justiça, it can sound more specific depending on context, such as the justice system or a more defined idea of justice.

Compare:

  • Todos querem justiça. = Everyone wants justice.
  • Todos querem a justiça. = less natural in this general sense; it sounds more specific or emphatic
Could this sentence also be translated as All want justice?

Yes, literally it could, but in natural English Everyone wants justice is usually the best translation.

That is because todos here refers to people generally, not just a previously mentioned group in a strongly literal way.

So the most natural English meaning is:

  • Everyone wants justice.
Is Todos querem justiça a complete sentence, even without an explicit noun like as pessoas?

Yes. Todos can stand alone as a pronoun, so the sentence is fully complete.

Compare:

  • Todos querem justiça. = Everyone wants justice.
  • Todas as pessoas querem justiça. = All people want justice.

The second version is more explicit, but the first is very normal and natural.

What is the dictionary form of querem?

The dictionary form is querer, which means to want.

Some common forms are:

  • eu quero = I want
  • você/ele/ela quer = you/he/she wants
  • nós queremos = we want
  • vocês/eles/elas querem = you all/they want

So querem is the present tense plural form of querer.

How do you pronounce Todos querem justiça in Brazilian Portuguese?

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

  • TOH-doos KEH-rein zhoo-STEE-sah

A few notes:

  • todos: the final s sounds like s in Brazil
  • querem: the qu sounds like k
  • justiça: the j sounds like the s in measure or zh; the ç sounds like s

The stress is roughly:

Why is querem plural if everyone in English takes singular agreement?

That is a grammar difference between English and Portuguese.

In English, everyone is grammatically singular:

  • Everyone wants

In Portuguese, todos is grammatically plural:

  • Todos querem

So even though the meaning is similar to English everyone, the grammar follows the plural form in Portuguese.

Could I say Todo mundo quer justiça instead?

Yes, absolutely. Todo mundo quer justiça is very common in Brazilian Portuguese and often sounds more natural in everyday speech.

Compare:

  • Todos querem justiça.
  • Todo mundo quer justiça.

Both mean Everyone wants justice.

The difference is mainly style:

  • todos = a bit more direct, slightly more formal or written in some contexts
  • todo mundo = very common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese

Notice the verb changes too:

  • todo mundo quer
    not
  • todo mundo querem

That is because todo mundo is treated as singular.

What is the difference between todos and tudo?

This is a very common question.

  • todos = everyone / all people / all of them
  • tudo = everything

Examples:

  • Todos querem justiça. = Everyone wants justice.
  • Tudo muda. = Everything changes.

So you cannot use tudo in this sentence if you mean people.

Can Portuguese drop todos and just say Querem justiça?

Yes, Portuguese often allows the subject to be omitted, because the verb ending shows who is involved.

  • Querem justiça. = They want justice. / People want justice.

But this is less explicit than Todos querem justiça.

  • Todos querem justiça. clearly means everyone
  • Querem justiça. could mean they want justice or a more vague people want justice, depending on context

So the original sentence is clearer and stronger.

Would Toda gente quer justiça also be correct?

It can be understood, but in Brazilian Portuguese, the much more common expression is:

In some varieties of Portuguese, especially European Portuguese, toda a gente is very common for everyone.

For Brazilian Portuguese, if you want a natural everyday alternative, use:

  • Todo mundo quer justiça.
Is there any special nuance to putting todos at the beginning?

Yes. Putting todos first makes the subject very clear and gives a strong general statement:

  • Todos querem justiça.

This is the normal word order: subject + verb + object.

It sounds like a broad truth or universal claim: everyone wants justice.

If you changed the order, it would usually sound more marked, poetic, or context-dependent. The original sentence is the most neutral and natural form.

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