Universal reference and exception
B1 任指与排除（连…都、也；谁都、什么都；除了…以外） 45 / 56
In short
A question word like 谁 (shéi, who) or 什么 (shénme, what) stops asking a question and starts meaning “any / every / no” the moment you follow it with 都 (dōu) or 也 (yě): 谁都知道 (shéi dōu zhīdào) = “everyone knows,” 什么都不吃 (shénme dōu bù chī) = “eats nothing.” The very same 都/也 powers 连…都 (“even”) and closes the 除了…以外 (“except / besides”) frame - where 都 afterwards means “except” and 还 means “besides.”
The rule
Step 1 - Question word + 都/也 = “any / every / none.” When 谁, 什么, 哪儿 (nǎr, where), 怎么 (zěnme, how) and 什么时候 (shénme shíhou, when) are not asking a question, put 都 or 也 right after them and they sweep across the whole set:
(Subject +) Question-word + 都 / 也 + (不/没 +) Verb
Affirmative = “every / any”: 谁都会 (shéi dōu huì, everyone can). With 不/没 = “none / not any”: 谁都不会 (shéi dōu bù huì, no one can). Use 都 for the affirmative sweep; in the negative both 都 and 也 work, and 也 is the idiomatic choice there - 谁也不会 (shéi yě bù huì). Note that 也 almost never sweeps an affirmative, so “everyone can” is 都, not 谁也会. The question word does not have to touch 都/也: it can bind a verb inside the clause, and 都 then sweeps the whole clause - Question-word + Verb + 都 + evaluation - which is why 什么时候来都可以 is right and 什么时候都来可以 is not. What follows 都 there is usually an evaluation (可以, 行, 好看, 来得及) rather than the swept verb itself.
Step 2 - If the question word is the object, front it. Because 都/也 are adverbs that must sit right before the verb, an object question word jumps ahead of them: Subject + QW-object + 都/也 + Verb. So 我什么都想学 (wǒ shénme dōu xiǎng xué, I want to learn anything), 我什么都不想吃 (wǒ shénme dōu bù xiǎng chī, I don’t want to eat anything). You cannot leave it in the object slot - 我想吃什么 would read as the question “what do I want to eat?”
Step 3 - 连…都/也 = “even.” 连 (lián) flags the surprising, extreme member; 都 or 也 then delivers the punch:
连 + [extreme item] + 都 / 也 + Verb
The flagged item can be the subject or a fronted object: 连他都来了 (lián tā dōu lái le, even he came), 我连一分钱都没有 (wǒ lián yī fēn qián dōu méiyǒu, I don’t even have one cent). 连 itself is optional - the 都/也 already implies “even” - but it sharpens the emphasis. It pairs constantly with 一 + measure word for “not even one”: 一个都不 (yī gè dōu bù, not a single one), 一点儿都不 (yī diǎnr dōu bù, not at all).
Step 4 - 除了…以外 = “except” OR “besides” - the following adverb decides. 除了 (chúle) opens the frame - on a noun or on a verb phrase, with nothing added to nominalize it - and 以外 (yǐwài, or 之外; both often droppable) closes it. What comes after the comma disambiguates the two opposite readings:
- 除了 X 以外，都/全 … = exclusive, “except X, all the rest …”: 除了他以外，我们都去 (chúle tā yǐwài, wǒmen dōu qù, except him, we all go).
- 除了 X 以外，还/也 … = inclusive, “besides X, also …”: 除了拖地，他还倒了垃圾 (chúle tuō dì, tā hái dào le lājī, besides mopping the floor, he also took the rubbish out).
Same opener, opposite meaning: 都 subtracts the named item, 还 adds to it. Read the second half before you translate the first.
Forms & patterns
Question words turned into universal indefinites:
| Question word | As a question | + 都/也 (affirmative) | + 都/也 + 不/没 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 谁 (shéi) | who? | 谁都 everyone / anyone | 谁都不 no one |
| 什么 (shénme) | what? | 什么都 everything / anything | 什么都不 nothing |
| 哪儿 (nǎr) | where? | 哪儿都 everywhere | 哪儿都不 nowhere |
| 怎么 (zěnme) | how? | 怎么都 any way | 怎么都不 no way |
| 什么时候 (shénme shíhou) | when? | 什么时候都 anytime | 什么时候都不 never |
The 都/也 frames side by side:
| Frame | Structure | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universal | QW + 都/也 + V | 谁都知道 (shéi dōu zhīdào) | everyone knows |
| Even | 连 + X + 都/也 + V | 连他都来了 (lián tā dōu lái le) | even he came |
| Except | 除了 X 以外，都 … | 除了我以外，都走了 (chúle wǒ yǐwài, dōu zǒu le) | except me, all have left |
| Besides | 除了 X 以外，还/也 … | 除了茶，还有咖啡 (chúle chá, hái yǒu kāfēi) | besides tea, there’s also coffee |
Examples
- 谁都知道这件事。 (Shéi dōu zhīdào zhè jiàn shì.) - Everyone knows about this.
- 这件事谁也不知道。 (Zhè jiàn shì shéi yě bù zhīdào.) - No one knows about this.
- 我什么都想学。 (Wǒ shénme dōu xiǎng xué.) - I want to learn everything.
- 我什么都不想吃。 (Wǒ shénme dōu bù xiǎng chī.) - I don’t want to eat anything.
- 你什么时候来都可以。 (Nǐ shénme shíhou lái dōu kěyǐ.) - You can come anytime.
- 他连中文都会说。 (Tā lián Zhōngwén dōu huì shuō.) - He can even speak Chinese.
- 我连一分钱都没有。 (Wǒ lián yī fēn qián dōu méiyǒu.) - I don’t even have a single cent.
- 除了小王以外，我们都到了。 (Chúle Xiǎo Wáng yǐwài, wǒmen dōu dào le.) - Except Xiao Wang, we’ve all arrived.
- 除了英文，她还会说日文。 (Chúle Yīngwén, tā hái huì shuō Rìwén.) - Besides English, she can also speak Japanese.
- 这道题一点儿都不难。 (Zhè dào tí yī diǎnr dōu bù nán.) - This problem isn’t difficult at all.
Common mistakes
- 谁知道都。 -> 谁都知道。 (Shéi dōu zhīdào.) - 都 is an adverb before the verb; it can never trail at the end the way English drops “all / everyone” there.
- 我不想吃什么。 (meant as “I want to eat nothing”) -> 我什么都不想吃。 - To mean “nothing,” the object 什么 must move in front of 都/也; left in the object slot it reads as a question or as vague “not especially.”
- 他连中文会说。 -> 他连中文都会说。 - 连 never stands alone; it needs its partner 都 or 也 to complete the “even” frame.
- 除了中文，他都会说英文。 (meant as “besides Chinese, he also speaks English”) -> 除了中文，他还会说英文。 - With 除了 in its “besides / in addition” sense, pair it with 还/也 (which adds), not 都 (which subtracts, giving “except”).
Tips
- Think of 都/也 as the “sweep”: a question word in front of it stops asking and starts covering the entire set. Affirmative sweep = 都 (“every”); negative sweep = usually 也 + 不/没 (“none”), though 都不 works too.
- Inside 除了…以外, the switch is 都 vs 还: 都 subtracts the named item (“except X, everyone else”), 还 adds to it (“besides X, also Y”). Decide by looking at the second clause, not the first.
- 连…都/也 is high-frequency spoken emphasis, often exasperated: 连…都不 = “doesn’t even ….” Lock it to 一 + measure word for “not even one / not at all”: 一个都不要 (yī gè dōu bù yào), 一点儿都不懂 (yī diǎnr dōu bù dǒng).
- Sandhi to hear but not rewrite: 一 is written yī but shifts to yì before 1st/2nd/3rd tones (一点儿 -> yì diǎnr) and yí before a 4th tone (一个 -> yí gè); 不 is bù but becomes bú before a 4th tone (不要 -> bú yào). Say them shifted, write them in plain citation tone.