"Tout du moins" or "à tout le moins"?

Question

Which sentence is correct?

Il est riche, tout du moins, il a de l'argent.

Or

Il est riche, à tout le moins, il a de l'argent.

In general people say "tout du moins", but in books I read "à tout le moins". What is the correct expression?

I would correct the second sentence into « Il est riche, il a de l'argent, à tout le moins » though. (And then I would think both to be correct.) — Nikana Reklawyks, Oct 13 '12 at 10:24
Have you consulted any dictionaries? A tout le moins and tout du moins http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/moins You should check first and then post. — Lambie, Feb 20 '17 at 23:30

score 10 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 25 '17 at 13:33

10

Both are correct but à tout le moins sounds old-fashioned now (wiktionnaire).

There's also pour le moins which has the same meaning.

edited Jul 25 '17 at 13:33

ΥΣΕΡ26328

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answered Jul 26 '12 at 17:12

Romain Valeri

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score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 26 '12 at 17:06

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Tout du moins is not a correct expression as far as I know. In any case, I have never heard it. À tout le moins, on the other hand, is correct.

There are also these other similar expressions with moins:

Du moins
Au moins
Tout au moins

answered Jul 26 '12 at 17:06

Kareen

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My informal impression is that tout du moins is more common than tout au moins in spoken French in France. – Gilles 'SO nous est hostile' Jul 26 '12 at 22:14
@Kareen: are you from Quebec? It would explain the difference. – Anne Aunyme Feb 20 '17 at 12:59
@AnneAunyme Yes, I am from the Montreal region. – Kareen Feb 20 '17 at 21:20

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited Jul 25 '17 at 12:11

2

À tout le moins est en effet plus soigné et littéraire que tout du moins.

Il est vrai que l'expression est un peu recherchée, mais elle est compréhensible sans effort par une oreille francophone

edited Jul 25 '17 at 12:11

Toto

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answered Jul 25 '17 at 11:18

Didier

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score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 26 '12 at 18:50

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"Tout du moins" seems to me a less common variant of "tout au moins". For the rest, both expressions mean pretty much the same same thing, roughly "Well, at least, nevertheless, anyway", though quite more formally than several of these expressions.

answered Jul 26 '12 at 18:50

Circeus

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 19 '16 at 17:47

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Absolutely, "tout du moins" is incorrect. You can also use "pour le moins". I think "du moins" corresponds to a more relaxed language, which is not the case of "à tout le moins".

answered Dec 19 '16 at 17:47

psimon

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score 0 · Answer 6 · edited Feb 20 '17 at 10:22

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"Tout du moins" is absolutely correct, like "du moins". "Pour le moins" is perfectly correct too, but sounds very literary & a bit old-fashioned as mentioned earlier.

edited Feb 20 '17 at 10:22

Toto

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answered Feb 20 '17 at 09:59

Nicolas de Paris

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"Tout du moins" or "à tout le moins"?

6 Answers6