全部

1. Grammatical Roles of 全部 (cyun4 bou6)
全部 expresses 'all', 'the whole', or a complete bounded set. It can fill several structural positions:

• Before Nouns: You can place it directly before a noun (e.g., 全部書 cyun4 bou6 syu1 = 'all books'). It frequently takes the associative particle 嘅 (ge3) (e.g., 全部嘅學生 cyun4 bou6 ge3 hok6 saang1 = 'all of the students'). In colloquial Cantonese, it is also possible to use the plural classifier 啲 (di1) (e.g., 全部啲書 cyun4 bou6 di1 syu1 = 'all the books'), though it is generally more preferred to front the noun phrase as the topic (e.g., 啲書全部...).
• With Numbers and Classifiers: Placing 全部 directly before a number, classifier, and noun is perfectly natural and common in everyday Cantonese (e.g., 全部三本書 cyun4 bou6 saam1 bun2 syu1 = 'all three books'). You can also use the fronted topic structure (e.g., 嗰三本書全部... go2 saam1 bun2 syu1 cyun4 bou6... = 'All three of those books...').
• Topic Fronting: Noun phrases (both subjects and objects) are frequently placed before 全部 to act as the topic. For example, an object: 啲書我全部睇晒 (di1 syu1 ngo5 cyun4 bou6 tai2 saai3 = 'I have read all of the books').
• Standalone Pronoun / Object: Functions as a complete phrase meaning 'everything' or 'all of it' (e.g., 我想要全部 ngo5 soeng2 jiu3 cyun4 bou6 = 'I want all of it').

2. The Mandatory 都 (dou1) and 晒 (saai3) Partnership
When 全部 is used before a verb, it is a standard grammatical requirement to pair it with the adverb 都 (dou1) and/or the verbal suffix 晒 (saai3).

• 全部...都...: 啲人全部都走晒 (di1 jan4 cyun4 bou6 dou1 zau2 saai3 = 'The people have all left').
• With Adjectives: When 全部 is the subject of a predicative adjective, 都 (dou1) is required before the degree word (e.g., 全部都好靚 cyun4 bou6 dou1 hou2 leng3 = 'They are all very beautiful').

3. Key Distinctions & Rules

• The 'Two vs. Three+' Rule: 全部 is strictly reserved for bounded sets of three or more items. If you are referring to exactly two items, you cannot use it; instead, Cantonese requires 兩 + CL + 都 (e.g., 兩部都係 loeng5 bou6 dou1 hai6 = 'Both are').
• Colloquial Equivalent 冚唪唥 (ham6 baang6 laang6): In highly colloquial spoken Cantonese, native speakers frequently use 冚唪唥 instead of 全部 to mean 'all of it' or 'the whole lot' (e.g., 冚唪唥都係我嘅 ham6 baang6 laang6 dou1 hai6 ngo5 ge3 = 'They are all mine'). 全部 is neutral and works in both spoken and written contexts.
• 全部 vs. 所有 (so2 jau5): 所有 is strictly an attributive determiner (it must modify a head noun, often with 嘅, like 所有嘅人) and cannot stand alone as an object or pronoun. 全部 can be used both before nouns and as a standalone object/pronoun.

4. Negating 全部
When negating, word order changes the meaning completely:

• Partial Negation (Not all): Place 唔係 (m4 hai6) before 全部 (e.g., 唔係全部都係 m4 hai6 cyun4 bou6 dou1 hai6 = 'Not all of them are').
• Total Negation (None at all): Place 全部 before 都 and the negator 唔 (m4) (e.g., 全部都唔係 cyun4 bou6 dou1 m4 hai6 = 'None of them are').