All and everything (todo vs. tudo)

Saying "Everything" with Tudo

When you want to say "everything" or "all" as a general concept, use tudo.

As an abstract concept, tudo is invariable. It has no masculine, feminine, or plural forms. It simply stands alone as a pronoun to mean "everything."

I separate everything for the move.
Separo tudo para a mudança.
Were you packing everything or wrapping the glasses?
Estavas a empacotar tudo ou a embrulhar os copos?

Saying "All" with Todo

When you want to talk about "all the" or "every" specific item, you must use todo.

Because it refers to specific nouns, it must agree in gender and number. It is also almost always followed by the definite article (o, a, os, as).

MasculineFeminineMeaning
todo otoda aall the / the whole
todos ostodas asall the / every

For example, use the plural forms for multiple items:

I close all the boxes with tape.
Fecho todos os caixotes com fita-cola.

And use the singular forms for uncountable nouns or whole single objects:

We empty the room and put away all the junk.
Esvaziamos o quarto e guardamos toda a tralha.

Tudo vs. Todo in Context

To summarize the difference:

  • Use tudo when the word stands alone to mean "everything."
  • Use todo/toda/todos/todas when describing specific nouns.

Notice how both words function in a single sentence:

They empty all the furniture and take everything.
Eles esvaziam todos os móveis e levam tudo.
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