14.2 The Adverb 都 dou1 II (‘all’)
In Grammar and Vocabulary 3.2, we learned that the adverb 都 dou1 means ‘too, also’.
The adverb 都 dou1 can also mean ‘all’. When the subject in a sentence represents a group of people or things, we can put 都 dou1 after the subject to emphasize that all of the people or things do the same activity or share the same attribute.
我三個仔女仲讀緊書。
ngo5 saam1 go3 zai2 neoi2 zung6 duk6 gan2 syu1.
My three children are still studying.
我三個仔女都仲讀緊書。
ngo5 saam1 go3 zai2 neoi2 dou1 zung6 duk6 gan2 syu1.
All three of my children are still studying.
When the number of people or things is two, we can understand 都 dou1 as ‘both’.
我兩個女仲讀緊書。
ngo5 loeng5 go3 neoi2 zung6 duk6 gan2 syu1.
My two daughters are still studying.
我兩個女都仲讀緊書。
ngo5 loeng5 go3 neoi2 dou1 zung6 duk6 gan2 syu1.
Both of my two daughters are still studying.