A quick example to differentiate “所有” and “都” ：
所有中国人都会说中文 – all of the Chinese , we can all speak chinese !
The first “all” in the English sentence is 所有， the second “all” is “都”.
You can use 所有 (suǒyǒu) to say “all of” something. It’s what you use to say phrases like “all the money in the world” or “all of my friends.”
Structure
所有 (+ 的) + Noun
This pattern is used to refer to “all” of a noun, with the quantity of said noun usually being fairly large. You may notice that the 的 after 所有 is occasionally omitted.
Examples
你 买 了 她 所有 的 书 ？
Nǐ mǎi le tā suǒyǒu de shū?
You’ve bought all her books?
我 喜欢 所有 我 妈妈 做 的 菜 。
Wǒ xǐhuan suǒyǒu wǒ māma zuò de cài.
I like all the food my mom cooks.
他 记得 所有 朋友 的 生日 。
Tā jìde suǒyǒu péngyou de shēngrì.
He remembers all of his friends’ birthdays.
Structure
所有 (+ 的) + Noun + 都 + Predicate
The predicate part of the pattern can be a verb or an adjective.
Examples
所有 人 都 走 了 吗 ？
Suǒyǒu rén dōu zǒu le ma?
Did all the people leave?
所有 的 学校 都 放假 了。
Suǒyǒu de xuéxiào dōu fàngjià le.
All the schools are out for the holiday.
我们 学校 所有 的 老师 都 会 说 英文 。
Wǒmen xuéxiào suǒyǒu de lǎoshī dōu huì shuō Yīngwén.
All the teachers in our school can speak English.
我们 公司 所有 人 都 参加 了 这个 会议 。
Wǒmen gōngsī suǒyǒu rén dōu cānjiā le zhège huìyì.
All people in our company attended this meeting.
Take note that you use 不是 rather than just 不 to negate 所有.
Structure
不是 + 所有 (+ 的) + Noun + 都 + Predicate
Examples
不是 所有 的 美国 人 都 爱 喝 咖啡 。
Bù shì suǒyǒu de Měiguó rén dōu ài hē kāfēi.
Not all Americans like drinking coffee.
不是 所有 问题 都 能 用 钱 来 解决 。
Bù shì suǒyǒu wèntí dōu néng yòng qián lái jiějué.
Not all problems can be solved with money.
不是 所有 朋友 都 愿意 帮 他 。
Bù shì suǒyǒu péngyou dōu yuànyì bāng tā.
Not all of his friends are willing to help him.
不是 所有 的 公司 都 给 员工 提供 培训 。
Bù shì suǒyǒu de gōngsī dōu gěi yuángōng tígōng péixùn.
Not all companies provide their employees with training.
The adverb 都 (dōu) is used to express “all” in Chinese. It’s common to use 都 (dōu) in a variety of sentences where it would seem unnecessary in English.
Structure
Subj. + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
Remember that 都 (dōu) appears after the subject. A common mistake learners make is to put 都 (dōu) at the beginning of the sentence (as “all” often appears there in English). This isn’t good Chinese – make sure you put 都 (dōu) after the subject and before the verb.
Examples
你们 都 认识 John 吗 ？
Nǐmen dōu rènshi John ma?
Do you all know John?
他们 都 在 上海 。
Tāmen dōu zài Shànghǎi.
They are all in Shanghai.
明天 我们 都 可以 去 。
Míngtiān wǒmen dōu kěyǐ qù.
Tomorrow we all can go.
你们 都 用 wiki 吗 ？
Nǐmen dōu yòng wiki ma?
Do you all use the wiki?
我们 都 要 冰水。
Wǒmen dōu yào bīngshuǐ .
We all want ice water.
Chinese doesn’t normally use a special word for “both” like English does. It just uses 都 (dōu) as if it were any other number greater than one. Chinese also doesn’t have a special pattern like “neither / nor” for the negative case. Just use 都 (dōu) and make the sentence negative.
Structure
Subj. + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
This pattern should look familiar.
Examples
These examples follow exactly the same form in Chinese as the ones above. The only difference is that here we don’t translate 都 (dōu) as “all” in English; we translate it as “both,” and for negative cases, we translate it as “neither.”
我们 两 个 都 爱 你 。
Wǒmen liǎng gè dōu ài nǐ.
The two of us both love you.
你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 都 是 美国人 吗？
Nǐ bàba hé nǐ māma dōu shì Měiguó rén ma?
Are your father and your mother both Americans?
我 和 我 太太 都 不 吃 肉。
Wǒ hé wǒ tàitai dōu bù chī ròu.
Neither my wife nor I eat meat.
你们 两个 都 喜欢 中国 菜 吗？
Nǐmen liǎng gè dōu xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài ma?
Do you both like Chinese food?
她 和 她 老公 都 没有 工作。
Tā hé tā lǎogōng dōu méiyǒu gōngzuò.
Neither she nor her husband has a job.
