all/allt/alla

All/everything/everyone

Level 2

Use all/allt for a whole mass or amount according to gender, and alla for a plural group: all mat, allt vatten, alla barn. Allt can mean everything and alla can mean everyone; a single whole book is hela boken.

How It Works

The words all, allt, and alla function as determiners that must agree with the noun they describe. This is a crucial concept in Swedish grammar, closely related to adjective agreement.

Key Rules:

  • all + a singular common-gender mass or collective expression: all maten (all the food)
  • allt + a singular neuter mass or collective expression: allt vattnet (all the water)
  • alla + a plural expression: alla böckerna (all the books)

Both definite and indefinite nouns are possible: all mat (all food), allt vatten (all water), alla barn (all children), alongside all maten, allt vattnet and alla barnen. The choice depends on whether a particular quantity or group is identified. For the whole of one ordinary countable object, use hela: hela äpplet (the whole apple).

Standalone Usage:
The forms allt and alla can also be used as pronouns without a noun following them.

  • Allt means 'everything'.
    Ex: Allt är klart nu. (Everything is ready now.)
  • Alla means 'everyone' or 'everybody'.
    Ex: Alla är här. (Everyone is here.)

All is not the ordinary standalone equivalent of everything or everyone. It can occur in special expressions, and standalone alla can also mean “all of them” when its referents are known.

The singular forms in this lesson normally quantify a substance, amount or collective, not one indivisible object. This is why all mat and allt ris work, while “the whole book” is normally hela boken.

Examples (5)

  1. Jag drack upp all mjölken.

    I drank up all the milk.

    Word by Word: I drank up all the-milk.

    'Mjölk' is an 'en' noun, so 'all' is used.

  2. Han åt allt riset.

    He ate all the rice.

    Word by Word: He ate all the-rice.

    'Ris' is an 'ett' noun, so 'allt' is used.

  3. Alla barnen leker ute.

    All the children are playing outside.

    Word by Word: All the-children are-playing outside.

    'Barn' is plural here ('barnen'), so 'alla' is used.

  4. Är allt okej?

    Is everything okay?

    Word by Word: Is everything okay?

    Here, 'allt' is used as a standalone pronoun meaning 'everything'.

  5. Alla kom till festen.

    Everyone came to the party.

    Word by Word: Everyone came to the-party.

    Here, 'alla' is used as a standalone pronoun meaning 'everyone'.

Common Mistakes

  • Choosing common gender for a neuter mass noun.

    Jag drack all vattnet.
    Jag drack allt vattnet.

    Vatten is neuter, so use allt. For a single whole apple, use hela äpplet rather than treating every singular count noun like a mass noun.

  • Using a singular count noun after plural alla.

    Jag såg alla film.
    Jag såg alla filmer.

    Alla requires plural filmer here. Alla filmerna is also possible when identifying a particular set; definiteness is not obligatory after alla.

How It Connects

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

all/allt/allaLevel 2All/everything/everyone

Learn This First

To use 'all/allt/alla' correctly, you need to understand Swedish noun genders and pluralization, as the quantifier must agree with the noun it describes in gender (en/ett) and number (singular/plural).

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Words in This Pattern

allallallt