جميع / كل

All of Them

Level 4

In Modern Standard Arabic, to emphasize that every single member of a group is included, or that the entirety of an object is involved, you place كل or جميع after the noun. These words must carry a pronoun suffix that matches the noun and must mirror the noun's grammatical case.

How It Works

Use these rules for totality emphasis:

1. The Emphasis Words: The primary words used for totality emphasis are كل, جميع, and عامة. These words emphasize that the entire group or whole object is included.
2. Definiteness: Usually, the noun being emphasized is definite (maʿrifah). While some grammarians allow emphasizing indefinite nouns if they are specific enough to be useful, it is standard practice to emphasize definite nouns.
3. Divisibility and the Dual: The noun must be divisible into parts (like a plural group or a singular whole like 'the city'). For exactly two people or things, you must use kila or kilta instead.
4. Position and Pronoun: The emphasis word must come after the noun and must attach a pronoun suffix matching that noun in gender and number (e.g., كلُّهم).
5. Case Agreement: The emphasis word must match the case of the noun it follows:

  • Nominative (Marfūʿ): حضر الطلابُ كلُّهم.
  • Accusative (Manṣūb): رأيتُ الطلابَ كلَّهم.
  • Genitive (Majrūr): مررتُ بالطلابِ كلِّهم.

6. The 'Hal' Trap: Do not confuse the emphasis form (جميعُهم - with a pronoun) with the Hal form (جميعاً - without a pronoun). The word جميعاً is always accusative and functions here as a circumstantial accusative meaning “all” or “all together”; it does not necessarily assert that everyone acted at exactly the same time.
7. Extra Emphasis: For even stronger emphasis, كل is sometimes followed by specific words that do not take pronoun suffixes because they are inherently definite. These words must match the gender and number of the noun: أجمع (masculine singular), جمعاء (feminine singular), أجمعون (masculine plural), and جُمَع (feminine plural). For example: فسجد الملائكةُ كلُّهم أجمعون.

Examples (4)

  1. قرأتُ الكتابَ كلَّه.

    I read the whole book.

    Word by Word: I-read the-book all-of-it.

    Here, 'kulla-hu' is accusative (fatha on the lam) because it follows 'al-kitaba', which is the direct object.

  2. نجحَ المتسابقون جميعُهم.

    The contestants, every single one of them, succeeded.

    Word by Word: Succeeded the-contestants all-of-them.

    'Jamīʿu-hum' is nominative (damma on the 'ayn) to match the subject 'al-mutasābiqūn'.

  3. سلّمتُ على المعلماتِ كلِّهِنَّ.

    I greeted all of the (female) teachers.

    Word by Word: I-greeted on the-teachers all-of-them(f).

    'Kulli-hinna' is genitive because it follows a noun preceded by a preposition, and the pronoun suffix matches the feminine plural.

  4. المدينةُ كلُّها جميلةٌ.

    The whole city is beautiful.

    Word by Word: The-city all-of-it beautiful.

    This shows the pattern used for an inanimate object to mean 'the whole of'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a plural masculine suffix for a singular book.

    قرأتُ الكتابَ كلَّهم.
    قرأتُ الكتابَ كلَّه.

    The suffix refers back to الكتاب, so use singular masculine ـه. This exercise concerns pronoun agreement; the acceptability of emphasis after an indefinite noun is a separate question with differing traditional analyses.

  • Failing to match the case of the preceding noun.

    رأيتُ الأصدقاءَ كلُّهم.
    رأيتُ الأصدقاءَ كلَّهم.

    Learners often default to the nominative 'kullu-hum'. However, since 'al-aṣdiqāʾa' is the object (Manṣūb), 'kulla-hum' must also be accusative.

  • Omitting the required pronoun suffix.

    جاءَ الطلابُ كل.
    جاءَ الطلابُ كلُّهُم.

    In the semantic emphasis (tawkīd maʿnawī) construction, the word 'kull' cannot stand alone; it must have a pronoun referring back to the noun.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

جميع / كلLevel 4All of Them

Learn This First

To use 'جميع' and 'كل' for emphasis (Tawkid), you need to understand how to attach possessive pronouns to nouns, as the emphasis word must contain a pronoun referring to the emphasized noun. Additionally, you must understand case endings (I'rab) because these words act as followers (tawabi') and must match the grammatical case of the noun they are stressing.

Words in This Pattern

جميعكل