How to use весь / вся / всё / все

English has one small word for "all" — Russian has four, and they change shape depending on gender, number, and whether they're standing alone or in front of a noun. That sounds like a lot, but there's really only one decision to make: is весь/вся/всё/все replacing a noun, or describing one?

Get that one decision right, and the rest — все vs всё, which ending to use — follows a pattern you already half-know from other Russian adjectives.

The one decision: pronoun or adjective?

Все / всё are used as pronouns when they replace a noun — they stand on their own, meaning "everyone" or "everything."

Весь / вся / всё / все are used as adjectives when they come before and describe a noun — "the whole," "the entire."

As a pronoun (standing alone)

всё — "everything" (things, ideas, situations)

• Я всё понима́ю. — I understand everything.
• Всё гото́во. — Everything is ready.
• Он рассказа́л всё. — He told everything.
• Всё прошло́ хорошо́. — Everything went well.

все — "everyone" / "all" (people or countable things)

• Все пришли́. — Everyone arrived.
• Все уста́ли. — Everyone is tired.
• Я зна́ю всех. — I know everyone. (accusative: всех)
• Все хотя́т отдыха́ть. — Everyone wants to rest.

Notice that as any other pronouns всё / все also change it's case.

The quick test: все vs всё

This is the single most-searched confusion about these words, so here's the shortcut:

• Всё = one single "everything" — a lump sum of things, a situation, an idea. Grammatically neuter, singular.
• Все = many separate people or items, counted together. Grammatically plural.

If you can swap in "everyone" or "all of them" → все. If you can swap in "everything" or "it all" → всё.

As an adjective (before a noun)

Here весь/вся/всё/все means "the whole" or "the entire," and — just like any adjective — it agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case.

• весь день (masculine) — the whole day
• вся жизнь (feminine) — the whole life
• всё вре́мя (neuter) — the whole time / all the time
• все лю́ди (plural) — all people
• вся информа́ция (feminine) — all the information

Declension: весь / вся / всё / все by case

This is where a lot of learners get stuck, because весь doesn't decline like a regular adjective — it has its own slightly irregular pattern. These case forms follow the same logic as the rest of the Russian case system — if the whole idea of cases is still new, start here: Russian Cases: The Logic Behind the System.

Here it is in full:

*Accusative depends on whether the noun is animate or inanimate — same rule as regular masculine/plural nouns and adjectives (compare: я ви́жу но́вый стол vs. я ви́жу но́вого студе́нта).

You'll notice most of these endings match the soft regular adjective endings you already know. So even before you memorize the table, it's worth guessing intuitively: your instinct for adjective endings will get you right most of the time.

A few in action:

• У меня́ нет всего́, что ну́жно. — I don't have everything I need. (Genitive)
• Он рад всему́. — He's happy about everything. (Dative)
• Я зна́ю всех студе́нтов. — I know all the students. (Accusative, animate plural)
• Мы говори́ли обо всём. — We talked about everything. (Prepositional)

Common mistakes

🚫 Я зна́ю все студе́нты.

✔️ Я зна́ю всех студе́нтов. — After a verb like знать, animate plural nouns need the accusative/genitive form всех, not the nominative все.

🚫 Всё лю́ди лю́бят о́тдых.

✔️ Все лю́ди лю́бят о́тдых. — With a plural noun (лю́ди), you need все, not всё — even though both can sound similar out loud.

🚫 Он рассказа́л все. (meaning "he told everything")

✔️ Он рассказа́л всё. — A single story/idea is "everything," not "everyone" — use всё.

The takeaway

Ask yourself one question: is it standing alone, or is it in front of a noun?

• In front of a noun → it's an adjective, and it just agrees like any other (весь день, вся жизнь, всё вре́мя, все лю́ди).
• Standing alone → decide between всё (one thing, a situation) and все (many people/things).

Everything else — the case endings — follows the table above.

Practice will make this obvious. The more Russian you read and hear, the more these forms settle in — one day you'll just feel that всех is right, without stopping to think about the table at all. That's exactly what the exercises above are for :)