Todos vinieron salvo yo.

Literally, it is:

• Todos = everyone / all of them
• vinieron = came
• salvo = except / except for
• yo = I / me in this kind of contrast

So the whole sentence means Everyone came except me.

A very literal word-for-word version would be All came except I, but that is not natural English. The natural English translation is Everyone came except me.

Vinieron is the preterite form of venir for they:

• venir = to come
• vinieron = they came

It is used because todos refers to a plural group, so the verb must also be plural.

Examples:

• Todos vinieron. = Everyone came.
• Mis amigos vinieron. = My friends came.

The preterite is used here because it refers to a completed past action: they came.

In Spanish, todos is grammatically plural, even though in English everyone is treated as singular.

So Spanish thinks of it more like:

• all of them came

That is why the verb is plural:

• Todos vinieron not
• Todos vino

You could also hear:

• Todo el mundo vino = Everyone came

That version uses a singular expression, so the verb is singular:

• Todo el mundo vino

Both are correct, but Todos vinieron focuses more on all the people in the group.

Salvo means except or except for.

In this sentence:

• Todos vinieron salvo yo = Everyone came except me

It is correct and understandable, but in everyday conversation many speakers may more often use:

• excepto
• menos

So you may also hear:

• Todos vinieron excepto yo
• Todos vinieron menos yo

All three can mean the same thing here.

Very roughly:

• excepto = very common, neutral
• menos = very common, especially in speech
• salvo = correct, sometimes a bit more formal or literary depending on context

This is one of the most common learner questions.

Even though salvo can work a bit like except, Spanish often uses the subject pronoun here when it contrasts with the subject of the sentence:

• Todos vinieron salvo yo.
• Todos vinieron excepto yo.
• Todos vinieron menos yo.

Why? Because the idea is really something like:

• Everyone came, except I didn’t come
• or except for me, who didn’t come

So yo is understood as the subject of an omitted verb.

This is similar to English contrasts like:

• Everyone came except me (normal English)
• but Spanish prefers yo here in standard usage.

So for learners, the safest choice is:

• excepto yo
• menos yo
• salvo yo

not

• excepto mí
• menos mí
• salvo mí

Yes, a comma is often used, especially in writing, because salvo yo is an added exception:

• Todos vinieron, salvo yo.

Without the comma:

• Todos vinieron salvo yo.

Both are possible. The comma can make the sentence a little clearer and more natural in writing. In speech, the pause often does the same job.

Yes. That would also be natural, but the meaning shifts slightly.

• venir = to come
• llegar = to arrive

So:

• Todos vinieron salvo yo = Everyone came except me
• Todos llegaron salvo yo = Everyone arrived except me

In many situations the difference is small, but venir emphasizes movement toward the speaker or a reference place, while llegar emphasizes arrival.

Yes, it is correct and natural enough to be understood in Spain.

That said, many speakers in Spain would probably say one of these more often in everyday speech:

• Todos vinieron menos yo.
• Todos vinieron excepto yo.

So salvo is fine, but menos and excepto may sound more common in casual conversation.

No. In Spanish, todos can refer to:

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

If the group is entirely female, you would say:

• Todas vinieron salvo yo.

So:

• Todos = all of them / everyone, for a masculine or mixed group
• Todas = all of them, for an all-female group

Yes, Spanish word order is flexible.

The most neutral order here is:

• Todos vinieron salvo yo.

But you may also hear:

• Salvo yo, todos vinieron.

That version puts more emphasis on the exception.

Both are correct, but the original sentence is the more straightforward, neutral version.

Not if you want to keep the meaning except me.

• Todos vinieron. = Everyone came.
• Todos vinieron salvo yo. = Everyone came except me.

If you remove yo, the exception disappears, so the meaning changes completely.

It is neutral to slightly formal because of salvo.

Compare:

• Todos vinieron salvo yo. = neutral, slightly more formal/literary
• Todos vinieron excepto yo. = neutral
• Todos vinieron menos yo. = very common and natural in everyday speech

So the sentence is perfectly correct, but if you want the most conversational option, menos yo is often the easiest choice.