Questions & Answers about Todos querem justiça.
Why is it querem and not quer?
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?
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?
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?
Why is querem plural if everyone in English takes singular agreement?
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?
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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