Questions & Answers about Toda a casa está limpa hoje.
Toda a casa literally means “the whole house / the entire house.”
Grammatically:
- toda = all / whole / entire (feminine singular form of todo)
- a = the feminine singular definite article (the)
- casa = house
So toda a casa = all the house → the whole house in natural English.
Yes, you can also say A casa toda está limpa hoje. It is correct and natural.
- toda a casa and a casa toda both mean “the whole house / the entire house.”
- In European Portuguese, both orders are fine.
- There is, at most, a very slight stylistic difference:
- toda a casa sounds a bit more neutral or “default”.
- a casa toda can feel a bit more expressive, as if emphasizing every part of the house.
In everyday speech, both are used and understood the same.
Portuguese uses estar for temporary states or conditions and ser for permanent or defining characteristics.
A casa está limpa. = The house is (currently) clean.
→ It focuses on the present state, which can change (today it’s clean; tomorrow it might not be).A casa é limpa. = The house is clean (as a characteristic).
→ This sounds like you’re saying the house is generally clean or that cleanliness is a permanent trait, which is less common in this kind of context.
In Toda a casa está limpa hoje, we’re talking about today’s situation, so está is the natural choice.
In Portuguese, todo agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
- casa is feminine singular
- article: a casa
- so we must use toda (feminine singular)
Examples of agreement:
- todo o quarto – the whole bedroom (masculine singular: o quarto)
- toda a casa – the whole house (feminine singular: a casa)
- todos os quartos – all the bedrooms (masculine plural)
- todas as casas – all the houses (feminine plural)
So: toda a casa is correct because casa is feminine singular.
Tudo and todo(a) are different words in Portuguese.
- tudo = everything (pronoun, stands alone, not before a noun)
- Tudo está limpo. – Everything is clean.
- todo / toda = all / every / whole (adjective, used before a noun)
- Toda a casa está limpa. – The whole house is clean.
Since casa is a noun, you need the adjective form (toda), not the pronoun tudo.
So tudo a casa is incorrect.
In European Portuguese, that sounds unnatural or wrong in this context.
You normally need the definite article with todo(a) + noun when you mean “the whole …”:
- Toda a casa está limpa. ✓
- Todo o dia. – the whole day
- Toda a noite. – the whole night
In some Brazilian Portuguese contexts, you may see article dropping (e.g. toda casa tem…), but:
- For Portugal Portuguese, toda a casa is the normal, correct form in this sentence.
In está limpa, limpa is an adjective meaning “clean”.
It agrees with casa in gender and number:
- Masculine singular: limpo – O quarto está limpo.
- Feminine singular: limpa – A casa está limpa.
- Masculine plural: limpos – Os quartos estão limpos.
- Feminine plural: limpas – As casas estão limpas.
So Toda a casa está limpa = The whole house is clean (feminine singular).
Está limpa means “is clean” (state, result), not “is being cleaned”.
- A casa está limpa. = The house is clean (finished state).
- To say “is being cleaned” in European Portuguese, you would use:
- A casa está a ser limpa. – The house is being cleaned.
- Or more colloquially: Estão a limpar a casa (toda). – They’re cleaning the (whole) house.
So Toda a casa está limpa hoje. clearly describes the current clean state, not the ongoing action of cleaning.
Yes. Common options are:
- Toda a casa está limpa hoje.
- Hoje, toda a casa está limpa.
- Toda a casa, hoje, está limpa. (more marked/emphatic)
All are grammatically correct. The most neutral are:
- Hoje toda a casa está limpa.
- Toda a casa está limpa hoje.
Moving hoje can slightly change the rhythm or emphasis, but not the basic meaning.
The sentence Toda a casa está limpa hoje. is correct in both European and Brazilian Portuguese.
Subtle differences:
- Word order preference:
- In Brazil you very often hear A casa toda está limpa hoje.
- In Portugal, Toda a casa está limpa hoje and A casa toda está limpa hoje are both natural.
- Pronunciation differs (especially vowels and the final -a in casa and limpa), but the written sentence is the same.
So if you say Toda a casa está limpa hoje, you’ll be understood everywhere.
Yes, in natural European Portuguese speech, toda a is usually linked and reduced.
Very roughly:
- toda → sounds like /ˈtodɐ/ (final -a reduced to a schwa-like sound)
- a → small, often merged with the previous sound
So toda a casa can sound close to:
- /ˈtodɐ ˈkazɐ/
with toda a flowing together, almost like one unit.
The important point: there is no pause between toda and a in normal speech; they are pronounced smoothly as a single phrase.