Thread: Все трое

I read the following on the internet:

В ответ на это все трое громко заржали

I was thinking, is it всё or все. I thought it could be всё because that would agree with трое which is a neuter noun in form, but then I thought it would be все (Plu.) because it refers to three people... Both seem logical to me, so which is actually correct?

Все трое = all three.
Всё вроде всегда само по себе идёт.
Всё закончилось, всё разрешилось.
Всё было плохо.
Мне интересует всё, всё, что вы знаете, абсолютно все подробности.
Всё только начинается. Всё будет хорошо.

It все because it's plural.

Originally Posted by Оля

It все because it's plural.

Yes, but трое itself as a word is singular in form, if you see what I mean.
It's actually quite obvious since the verb is plural заржали so it must be все and not всё

Originally Posted by TATY

Yes, but трое itself as a word is singular in form, if you see what I mean.

I don't know that precisely, but, frankly speaking, I don't see why "трое" should be singular itself, and especially "a neuter noun in form". As far as I know, "трое" is a числительное.
If you say "трое" + a verb, the verb would be in plural anyway. Трое подошли к ларьку и стали его грабить.

Собирательные числительные у Розенталя:
http://booference.pochta.ru/styli_xxxviii.html#sect165

трое, четверо, пятеро, и пр. are not nouns. They are a special kind of numeral. They originate from the dual number, I think, which no longer exists in Russian, but other Slavic languages still have it.