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Grammar Lesson 79:

The indefinite adjective and pronoun

Tutto is an indefinite adjective and pronoun which indicates totality and wholeness.

It is variable:

Masc. Singular	Fem. Singular	Masc. Plural	Fem. Plural	Meaning
tutto	tutta	tutti	tutte	any, some some, a few

Examples:

- Dimmi tutta la verità. (Tell me the whole truth.) —> Adj.

- Tutti hanno cercato di dissuaderti. (Everybody tried to make you change your mind.)—> Pron.

How to use:

As an adjective, tutto usually precedes the noun it refers to and the article - or the demonstrative adjective - that come before the noun:

Examples:

- Ho letto tutto il libro. (I've read the whole book.)

- Hai mangiato tutta quella torta. (You've eaten all of that cake.)

But in certain expressions tutto comes right before the noun:

Examples:

- In tutta segretezza. (In secret, in confidence.)

- In tutta sincerità. (In all sincerity.)

- In tutta libertà. (With complete freedom.)

- A tutta velocità. (At full speed.)

- A tutto gas. (At full speed.)

- Essere tutt'orecchi. (To be all ears.)

- Essere tutto suo padre. (To look just like one's father.)

The same thing happens with the names of cities:

Examples:

- In tutta Milano. (The whole of Milan, everywhere in Milan.)

- Hai visitato tutta Londra. (You visited the entire city of London.)

Note that To indicate the total amount of persons, animals or things influenced by the verb, tutto is combined with a cardinal numeral, preceded by the conjunction e:

Examples:

- Tutti e quattro. (All four of them.)

- Li prendo tutti e cinque. (I'll take all five of them.)

When preceding a qualifying adjective, tutto gives that adjective a superlative notion:

Example:

- Tutto solo. (All alone.)

- Anna era tutta felice di averti visto. (Anna was utterly happy to have seen you.)

Note that tutto can be used as a noun when preceded by the definite article, and in that case it translates as whole / the whole thing

Example:

- Ho venduto il tutto per trecento euro. (I've sold the whole thing for 300 euros.)

Some expressions:

- a tutt'oggi. (To this day.)

- tutt'uno. (As one, as a whole, altogether.)

- in tutto e per tutto. (Completely.)

- tutt'altro. (On the contrary.)

- tuttora. (Still, even now.)

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