Questions & Answers about Todos vinieron salvo yo.
What does Todos vinieron salvo yo mean literally?
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.
Why is vinieron used here?
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.
Why is it todos if English says everyone, which looks singular?