The agreement of the adverb tout in French

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The agreement of the adverb tout

Reminder: Tout can either be an adjective, a pronoun, or an adverb. It agrees (or not) according to each function.

J'aime toutes les filles, j'aime tous les garçons (adjectif → accord) I love all the girls, I love all the boys. (adjective → agreement) 
Ils sont tous lĂ , elles sont toutes lĂ  (pronom → accord)  They are all there, they are all there. (pronoun → agreement) 
Tes vĂȘtements sont tout sales (adverbe → invariable) Your clothes are all dirty. (adverb → invariable / no agreement)

When used as an adverb, tout (all, completely, very) shares a similar meaning to entiĂšrement, complĂštement, and trĂšs. It is followed by an adjective.

Je suis tout triste. (= trĂšs triste) I'm very sad.
Mon chat est tout mouillé. (= complÚtement mouillé) My cat is all wet.

As a general rule, and like any adverb, tout remains invariable.
Ils sont tout tristes. They are very sad.
Mes chats sont tout mouillés. My cats are all wet.
Exception: The adverb tout takes a feminine singular and plural form when followed by a word starting with consonant or an aspirated h (like honteux, handicapé, haineux, etc.).

Ma fille est toute triste, mes filles sont toutes tristes. (triste commence par une consonne → accord) My daughter is very sad, my daughters are very sad. (triste starts with a consonant → agreement)
Ta sƓur est toute honteuse. (honteuse commence par un h aspirĂ© → accord) Your sister is very ashamed. (honteuse starts with an aspirated h → agreement)
Ma voisine est tout excitĂ©e, mes voisines sont tout excitĂ©es. (excitĂ©e(s) commence par une voyelle → pas d'accord) My neighbour is very excited, my neighbours are very excited. (excitĂ©e(s) starts with a vowel → no agreement)

Note: The agreement of tout in the feminine form is linked to pronunciation. Whether we say toute triste or tout excitée , it just so happens that tout(e) is pronounced the same.

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