Scope Adverb: 大都

Q: How do you use 范围副词 (Scope Adverb) in a sentence?

参加聚会的人大都是老同学，大家聊得很开心。 — Cān jiā jù huì de rén dà dōu shì lǎo tóng xué, dà jiā liáo de hěn kāi xīn. — Most of the people at the gathering were old classmates, and everyone chatted happily. 大都 + 是 states that most (not necessarily all) attendees share the trait of being former classmates.

Chinese grammar · HSK 5 · 范围副词 · By Carson 木林森 · Updated October 2026

大都 (dà dōu) is an adverb meaning mostly or for the most part, and it goes before the verb with a plural subject. It says that most of the group share the trait, though not all of them do.

大都 Dà dū

In English

大都 means "mostly" or "for the most part". It is an adverb, so it sits right after a plural or collective subject and before the verb: 这里的学生大都来自本地. It allows exceptions, which is the difference from 都, where everyone is included.

Do not put 大都 directly before a noun. For "the majority of" before a noun, use 大多数, as in 大多数学生, and add 都 in the predicate.

位置: Subject(plural) + 大都 + VP — 大都 sits right after the subject, like an adverb, never directly before a noun.

对比:
- 都 = all, no exceptions.
- 大都 = mostly, allows exceptions (often paired with a sentence noting the exception: 只有少数…).
- 大多数 = 'the majority of' — a quantifier that attaches to the noun itself (大多数学生), usually still followed by 都 in the predicate.

✅ 这里的学生大都来自本地，只有几个是外地人。
❌ 大都学生来自本地。(大都 cannot directly precede a noun the way 大多数 can)

Worked examples

Chinese	Pinyin	English	What it shows
参加聚会的人大都是老同学，大家聊得很开心。	Cān jiā jù huì de rén dà dōu shì lǎo tóng xué, dà jiā liáo de hěn kāi xīn.	Most of the people at the gathering were old classmates, and everyone chatted happily.	大都 + 是 states that most (not necessarily all) attendees share the trait of being former classmates.
这个小区的居民大都是老年人，社区活动大多围绕他们安排。	Zhè ge xiǎo qū de jū mín dà dōu shì lǎo nián rén, shè qū huó dòng dà duō wéi rào tā men ān pái.	Most residents of this neighborhood are elderly, so community activities are mostly planned around them.	大都 modifies the plural subject 居民 directly after it, before the predicate 是老年人.
网上的评论大都很正面，只有少数人不满意。	Wǎng shàng de píng lùn dà dōu hěn zhèng miàn, zhǐ yǒu shǎo shù rén bù mǎn yì.	Most online comments are positive; only a few people are dissatisfied.	大都 paired with 只有少数… explicitly confirms the exceptions it allows for, unlike 都 (all, no exceptions).

Word by word

Each word in this pattern on its own: what it does here, the structure, three more examples, and the mistake to avoid.

大都 (dà dōu)

Says that most members of a group share a trait, while allowing a few exceptions.

Structure: plural subject + 大都 + verb phrase

Chinese	Pinyin	English
公司的同事大都住在附近，上班很方便。	Gōng sī de tóng shì dà dōu zhù zài fù jìn, shàng bān hěn fāng biàn.	Most of my colleagues live nearby, so commuting is easy.
这些书大都是我在旧书店买的。	Zhè xiē shū dà dōu shì wǒ zài jiù shū diàn mǎi de.	Most of these books I bought in second-hand shops.
这里的饭馆大都十点才关门。	Zhè lǐ de fàn guǎn dà dōu shí diǎn cái guān mén.	The restaurants here mostly close at ten.

Not: ~~大都的学生都去了。~~ 大都 goes after the subject and never in front of a noun. Before a noun, use 大多数: 大多数学生都去了。

In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 6, adverbs (范围副词).

大多数 (dà duō shù)

Means "the majority of", and attaches to the noun it describes.

Structure: 大多数 + (的) + noun + 都 + verb

Chinese	Pinyin	English
大多数学生都同意老师的安排。	Dà duō shù xué shēng dōu tóng yì lǎo shī de ān pái.	Most students agree with the teacher's arrangements.
大多数人早上喜欢喝咖啡。	Dà duō shù rén zǎo shàng xǐ huān hē kā fēi.	Most people like drinking coffee in the morning.
这家店的大多数顾客都是附近的居民。	Zhè jiā diàn de dà duō shù gù kè dōu shì fù jìn de jū mín.	Most of this shop's customers are local residents.

Not: ~~大多数都学生同意。~~ 都 goes after the noun and before the verb: 大多数学生都同意。

Compared side by side: 大都 vs 都.

Produce this pattern without stopping to think about it. GraphChinese drills Scope Adverb across 13 exercises and schedules the review that keeps it.

What you need first

Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.

Scope adverbs

Questions about Scope Adverb

What does 范围副词 (Scope Adverb) mean in Chinese?

大都 (dà dōu) is an adverb meaning mostly or for the most part, and it goes before the verb with a plural subject. It says that most of the group share the trait, though not all of them do. It is an HSK 5 grammar point.

How do you use 范围副词 (Scope Adverb) in a sentence?

参加聚会的人大都是老同学，大家聊得很开心。 — Cān jiā jù huì de rén dà dōu shì lǎo tóng xué, dà jiā liáo de hěn kāi xīn. — Most of the people at the gathering were old classmates, and everyone chatted happily. 大都 + 是 states that most (not necessarily all) attendees share the trait of being former classmates.

What do you need to know before 范围副词 (Scope Adverb)?

Scope adverbs (HSK 4). This pattern is built out of them, so a sentence here that will not parse usually means one of them has not landed yet.

What is the difference between 大都 and 都?

都 means all, with no exceptions. 大都 means most, and a few may differ: 他的朋友大都是老师，只有一个是医生。

Can I say 大都学生?

No. 大都 is an adverb and follows the subject: 学生大都…. If you want "most students" as a phrase, use 大多数学生。

Scope Adverb is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.

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