Position of tout in "Elle a tout compris"

Thomas M.B2Kwiziq community member

Position of tout in "Elle a tout compris"

"She understood everything." has "tout" after "a" as the correct answer in the test. But "she understood something." is "Elle a compris quelque chose." ... at least I think that is correct. Why?
Asked 7 years ago
Ron T.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer
Bonjour Thomas,
Tout, tous, toute, toutes = Everything, all (of them), the whole (indefinite pronouns) In the phrase Elle a tout compris, tout is an indefinite pronoun and pronouns typically go before a verb, in this case between the auxiliary of avoir and the participe passé; however, in the phrase Elle a compris quelque chose, quelque is an adjective and chose is a feminine noun and would follow the verb.
J'espère que ma réponse vous aidera.
Ron
Thomas M.B2Kwiziq community member
Merci beaucoup!
AurélieKwiziq team member
Excellent explication Ron :) One tiny thing = "J'espère que ma réponse vous aidera." (it's your answer that helps) ;)
Ron T.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Merci Aurélie, c'était un typo.
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Would it be correct to translate: J'ai tout compris = I understood completely. J'ai compris tout = I understood everything. -- Chris.
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Claus ! You wouldn't say "J'ai compris tout", only "J'ai tout compris" to say = I understood everything. If you want to say "I understood completely" you will use another adverb: "J'ai complètement / tout à fait compris." See our lesson on position of adverbs with compound tenses: Position of French Adverbs - with compound tenses À bientôt !
Hao Y.B1Kwiziq community member

About Ron's answer "tout is an indefinite pronoun and pronouns typically go before a verb, in this case between the auxiliary of avoir and the participe passé"--you also have object pronouns that go before avoir and participe passé as in "Je l'ai invité à la maison."

So is it case that "tout" as an indefinite pronouns behaves differently from object pronouns? Are there any other such pronouns like "tout"?

Position of tout in "Elle a tout compris"

"She understood everything." has "tout" after "a" as the correct answer in the test. But "she understood something." is "Elle a compris quelque chose." ... at least I think that is correct. Why?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...