Last entry I addressed “all right” and “alright”; today I’m talking about some other “all words,” and once again they have very different meanings when combined or separated. (Once again, I refer to Grammar Girl as the primary inspiration for this piece. I will attempt to tweak it at least enough to pass Copyscape’s barriers . . .)

“all together” vs. “altogether”:

These two are not confused as often as their … umm, distant cousins are, but they do still get scrambled now and then. The easiest way to remember the difference is to think of the single-word version (altogether) as being an adjective (meaning “entirely” or “completely”), while the two-word “all together” simply means “collectively” or “in unison.” Additionally, “all together” can be broken up within a sentence, as in “We all cleaned the neighborhood together.” (or, “All together we cleaned the neighborhood.”)

“all ready” vs. “already”:

These two are also extremely variant in their meanings, compared to one another. The two-word one, “all ready,” is simply another way to say “prepared” (“That cake looks all ready to be carved up and gobbled down.”) Meanwhile, “already” has to do with time; it merely means “prior to this moment,” and defines a situation where something has previously occurred, as in “My bags were already packed, in anticipation of the journey.”

Until next time …