A1
也 and 都 — too, and all
Why 也 and 都 sit before the verb in Chinese rather than where English puts “too” and “all”, what order they come in together, and why 都 always looks backwards.
也 is too and 都 is all. Both are adverbs, and a Chinese adverb goes in front of the verb — never at the end, which is where English likes to put them.
我也是学生。
Wǒ yě shì xuéshēng.
I’m a student too.
我们都很忙。
Wǒmen dōu hěn máng.
We’re all busy.
我是学生也。
我也是学生。
Too at the end of the sentence is English word order. 也 has one position and it is immediately before the verb — or before 很, if there is one.
都 looks backwards
This is the part worth internalising. 都 sums up something that has already been said, so whatever it covers must come before it. English can say all my friends came; Chinese has to name the friends first and then 都.
我的朋友都来了。
Wǒ de péngyou dōu láile.
All my friends came.
都我们很忙。
我们都很忙。
都 has nothing to its left to sum up here. It is not a word meaning all that can be placed anywhere — it is a word that gathers up what precedes it.
That backwards reach is also why 都 is what makes a question word mean any:
我什么都不想吃。
Wǒ shénme dōu bù xiǎng chī.
I don’t want to eat anything.
什么 comes first, 都 gathers it, and the sentence means whatever it is, I don’t want it. The same shape works with 谁都, 哪儿都 and 什么时候都 — see question words.
Together, it is 也都
When both appear, 也 comes first. The order is fixed and worth learning as a single unit rather than as a rule.
他们也都去。
Tāmen yě dōu qù.
They’re all going too.
With a negative
Position changes the meaning rather than merely the emphasis, and this catches people.
我们都不去。
Wǒmen dōu bú qù.
None of us are going.
我们不都去。
Wǒmen bù dōu qù.
Not all of us are going.
都不 negates each one; 不都 negates the all. English needs two entirely different sentences for this and Chinese needs two adjacent words swapped, which is either elegant or cruel depending on the day.
也 with a negative is more forgiving — 我也不去, I’m not going either — and sits in the same place it always does.