In our last lesson, we discussed the word tout (all) as an adjective in the constructions tout + noun versus tout + determiner + noun, and we learned that tout, like all adjectives, agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies. In this lesson, we'll explore tout as an adverb. And in the process, we'll discover how this strange adverb sometimes goes rogue and starts behaving like an adjective! So, buckle up!
Before we examine the quirks and tricks of adverbial tout, let's look at tout as a regular adverb, a word that is typically invariable (never changes form). Indeed, tout always stays the same in front of another adverb. The construction tout + adverb is equivalent to très (very) + adverb:
Et voilà. Allez, mélange tout doucement.
And there we are. Go on, mix very slowly.
Caption 40, Delphine et Automne Le gâteau au yaourt - Part 1
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Delphine could have said this instead:
Voilà. Allez, mélange très doucement.
And there we are. Go on, mix very slowly.
Tout also combines well with adverbs like simplement: tout simplement (quite simply).
Alors tout simplement parce que ça fait maintenant dix ans qu'on travaille à notre compte.
So quite simply because it has now been ten years since we've been self-employed.
Caption 22, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: le titre de Maître Restaurateur, c'est quoi?
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The adverb tout can also modify an adjective to mean "all" or "very," as in "to the full extent." Again, tout behaves like a typical adverb and does not change. In his song "Cha Cha du Marin," singer Cré Tonnerre describes a sailor in a happy mood, using the construction tout + singular masculine adjectives:
Tout heureux, tout amoureux, tout bleu comme le ciel bleu
All happy, all in love, all blue as the blue sky
Caption 26, Cré Tonnerre Cha Cha du Marin
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Did you notice that all the t’s are sounded except the last one? That's because it's necessary to employ liaison in constructions like tout heureux (all happy) and tout amoureux (all/totally in love).
But when the adverb tout appears before a feminine adjective, the liaison becomes a bit more dangerous (or at least trickier). If the feminine adjective (singular or plural) starts with a vowel, as in excitée (excited), tout does not change:
J'étais tout excitée d'avoir ce privilège.
I was all excited to have that privilege.
Caption 16, Melissa Mars From Paris with Love
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Tout also stays the same before a feminine adjective starting with a mute h (since a word beginning with a mute h behaves like a word beginning with a vowel, in the sense that it allows a liaison to occur):
Elle est tout heureuse.
She is very happy.
Elles sont tout heureuses.
They are very happy.
But wait, there is another type of h in French! Unlike the mute h, the aspirated h acts like a consonant. Therefore, no liaison is possible, which would make the second t in tout silent. Tout agrees in number and gender before a feminine adjective beginning with an aspirated h. In the example below, toute agrees with the feminine adjective honteuse (ashamed):
Elle est toute honteuse.
She is very ashamed.
In the same sentence in the plural form, toutes takes -es just like the feminine plural adjective it modifies:
Elles sont toutes honteuses.
They are very ashamed.
Just as adverbial tout agrees with a feminine adjective starting with an aspirated h, tout also agrees with a feminine adjective starting with a consonant:
Et puis après, je me retrouve toute seule...
and then after, I find myself all alone...
Caption 29, Amal et Caroline Pourquoi tu n'es pas venue à mon anniversaire ?
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Elles peuvent fonctionner toutes seules.
They can operate on their own.
Caption 66, Lionel & Lahlou La grève
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However, there is sometimes ambiguity in the feminine plural form. In some cases, you will need context to determine whether toutes is acting as an adverb (meaning "very," modifying the adjective) or as an adjective (meaning "all," modifying the subject):
Elles sont toutes tristes.
They are very sad./All of them are sad.
Elles sont toutes honteuses.
They are very ashamed./All of them are ashamed.
On the other hand, there is no ambiguity with the construction tout + plural feminine noun beginning with a vowel or mute h (e.g. tout heureuses). This tout can only act as an adverb, meaning "very":
Elles sont tout heureuses.
They are very happy.
Likewise, toutes heureuses can only mean "(they are) all happy." Rather than an adverb, toutes in this case is an adjective of quantity that modifies the subject elles:
Elles sont toutes heureuses.
All of them are happy.
Now let's recap the rules of the construction tout + feminine adjective (singular and plural):
Agreement
When tout is before a feminine adjective starting with a consonant:
When tout is before a feminine adjective starting with an aspirated h:
No Agreement
When tout is before a feminine adjective starting with a vowel:
When tout is before a feminine adjective starting with a mute h:
(And don’t forget that adverbial tout does not take agreement before ANY masculine adjective.)
Toute la leçon est terminée! (The whole lesson is over!) This may be a lot to take in, but keep in mind that exceptions are few. Tout only changes before feminine adjectives and only in limited situations. And don’t forget: L’équipe de Yabla est tout heureuse de vous aider! (The Yabla team is very happy to help you!)
Who has not gazed at le ciel (the sky) to check the weather or enjoy a sunset or a sunrise? Indeed, the sky can take on many colors, from somber gray to magnificent sunset-red. There are many ways, colors, and expressions to describe the wild blue yonder. Poets, songwriters, weather forecasters, and ordinary people are all adept at describing le ciel. So, let's join them and explore some sky-related vocabulary. But first, let us find out where le ciel (the sky) is…
In this video, sweet cartoon character Piggeldy wants to know where le ciel (the sky) begins, and he asks his older brother Frédéric to take him there:
Piggeldy voulait savoir où commence le ciel.
Piggeldy wanted to know where the sky begins.
Caption 1, Piggeldy et Frédéric Le ciel
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Piggeldy’s mission to reach the heavens (on foot, no less) is bound to fail because, as the saying goes, la limite, c'est le ciel (the sky is the limit):
La limite, c'est le ciel, tu sais de qui c'est
The sky is the limit, you know whose it is
Caption 53, Disiz la Peste Dans tes rêves
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Though it's impossible to walk up to le ciel, it is certainly possible to gaze at it and enjoy its bright blue hue. In his humorous song, "Cha Cha du Marin," singer Cré Tonnerre sings about a ciel bleu (blue sky) that reflects his happy mood:
Tout heureux, tout amoureux, tout bleu comme le ciel bleu
All happy, all in love, all blue as the blue sky
Caption 26, Cré Tonnerre Cha Cha du Marin
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In his video about dog training, trusty guide Lionel also enthuses over a ciel radieux (glorious sky) as he finishes his visit to a canine club:
Nous allons prendre congé sous ce ciel radieux, bleu-azur.
We're going to take our leave under this glorious, azure-blue sky.
Captions 52-53, Lionel au club canin - Part 5
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And in Metz, Lionel enjoys another ciel estival (summer sky):
Nous sommes donc ici toujours à Metz, sous un ciel estival, ciel bleu
So we're still here in Metz under a summer sky, a blue sky
Caption 1, Lionel à Metz - Part 2
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While un ciel estival is a blue summer sky, un ciel gris (a gray sky) usually means drab winter days. And yet, people like Sophie and Patrice see beauty in les dégradés du gris (the shades of gray) in the Parisian skies:
Entre les dégradés de gris du ciel et les dégradés de gris des toits c'est vrai c'est super beau, hein?
Between the shades of gray in the sky and the shades of gray of the roofs, it's true it's super beautiful, huh?
Captions 9-11, Sophie et Patrice Paris, c'est gris
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Still, most people seem to prefer un ciel dégagé (a clear sky) over un ciel couvert (an overcast sky) or un ciel nuageux (a cloudy sky):
Cette nuit le ciel est dégagé avec huit degrés pour les températures... Et puis pour la journée de jeudi un ciel couvert avec quinze degrés le matin
Tonight the sky is clear with eight-degree temperatures... And then for daytime on Thursday an overcast sky with fifteen degrees in the morning
Caption 9, 14, Grand Lille TV Prévisions Météo (Juin)
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Un ciel dégagé est plus agréable qu’un ciel nuageux.
A clear sky is more pleasant than a cloudy sky.
In any case, not everyone is as fond of gray skies as Sophie and Patrice. Most would agree with the speaker in the video below, who describes gray skies as maussade (gloomy) and pluvieux (rainy):
Malheureusement avec un ciel maussade et un peu pluvieux...
Unfortunately under a gloomy and somewhat rainy sky...
Caption 15, Lionel Le club de foot de Nancy - Part 1
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Sometimes the sky is bleak and pale instead of gray, and when it comes to describing pale skies, who does it better than renowned poet Charles Baudelaire? In his poem "À une passante" (To a Passersby), Baudelaire depicts a bleak sky with the adjective livide, which means “pale” or even “deathly pale." (Unlike its English cognate, the French livide does not mean “livid/angry.")
Dans son œil, ciel livide où germe l'ouragan
From her eye, pale sky where a hurricane grows
Caption 41, Le saviez-vous? "À une passante" de Charles Baudelaire
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Still on a bleak note, singer Zaz portrays the sky in an even gloomier way:
Je mettrais du ciel en misère
I would put some sky in misery
Caption 9, Zaz Si
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In yet another sad song, singer Lesieur laments over un ciel sans avenir (a sky without a future), projecting even sadder feelings, a sense of hopelessness into a sky that refuses to rain:
Un ciel qui vous oublie... -Un ciel sans avenir
A sky that's forgetting you... -A sky with no future
Caption 26, Lesieur Des Ricochets
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Thankfully, le ciel does not always spell gloom. What could be a happier sight than un arc-en-ciel (a rainbow, literally an “arc-in-the-sky”)? In his humorous song, Oldelaf sings the praises of the colors of the rainbow in his own unique way:
Et j'avoue que j'aime aussi / Toutes les couleurs de l'arc-en-ciel / Le rouge, le jaune, le vert-de-gris / Le pourpre, le mauve, même le bleu ciel
And I'll admit that I also like / All the colors of the rainbow / Red, yellow, verdigris / Purple, mauve, even sky blue
Captions 30-33, Oldelaf J'aime les bêtes
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If un arc-en-ciel is close to a heavenly sight, le ciel is most certainly heavenly. It's synonymous with “heaven” when talking about the afterlife:
...et que le roi est leur meilleur guide sur terre en attendant d'aller au ciel.
...and that the king is their best guide on earth while they wait to go to heaven.
Captions 45-46, d'Art d'Art Vitraux de la Sainte-Chapelle
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Whatever you may see or choose to see in le ciel, you are now armed with extra vocabulary that will enable you to better paint the sky in words—French words, of course—or just talk about the weather. Thank you for gazing at le ciel (the sky) or les cieux (the skies) with Yabla!
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