Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

When talking about your daily routine or schedule, you often need to say that something happens "every" time or affects "all" of something. Italian uses ogni and tutti / tutte for this, but they follow very different rules.

Ogni: Always Singular

Ogni means "every" or "each." Just like in English, it is always followed by a singular noun. It never changes its form for masculine or feminine nouns, and you do not use an article with it.

Every afternoon I work out at the park.
Ogni pomeriggio mi alleno al parco.
At every workout, I run five kilometers.
A ogni allenamento, corro cinque chilometri.

Tutti and Tutte: Always Plural

To say "all," use tutti or tutte followed by a plural noun. Unlike ogni, there are two important rules to remember here:

  • It must match the gender of the noun (tutti for masculine plural, tutte for feminine plural).
  • You must include the definite plural article (i, gli, le) between the word "all" and the noun.
All the students work out in the pool.
Tutti gli studenti si allenano in piscina.
We do all the workouts together in the gym.
Facciamo tutti gli allenamenti insieme in palestra.
The children always forget all the good habits.
I bambini dimenticano sempre tutte le buone abitudini.

Comparing the Two

Because "every" and "all" have such similar meanings, you will often use them in the exact same contexts. Just remember how the grammar around the noun changes!

I write every important schedule in the notebook.
Scrivo ogni orario importante sul quaderno.
We check all the train schedules.
Controlliamo tutti gli orari dei treni.
All the students study every afternoon.
Tutti gli studenti studiano ogni pomeriggio.

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