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From the OWL resource Grammar and ESL Exercises
One Word or Two?
All ready/already
At last I was all ready to
go, but everyone had already left.
All right/alright
- all
right: used as an adjective or adverb; older and more formal spelling,
more common in scientific & academic writing: Will you be all right on your own?
- alright:
Alternate spelling of all right; less frequent but used often in
journalistic and business publications, and especially common in
fictional dialogue: He does alright in school.
All together/altogether
- all
together: an adverb meaning considered as a whole, summed up: All together, there were thirty-two students at the museum.
- altogether:
an intensifying adverb meaning wholly, completely, entirely: His comment raises an altogether different problem.
Anyone/any one
- anyone: a
pronoun meaning any person at all: Anyone who can solve this problem deserves an award.
- any one: a paired adjective and noun meaning
a specific item in a group; usually used with of: Any one of those papers could serve as an example.
Note: There are similar distinctions in meaning for
everyone and
every one
Anyway/any way
- anyway: an
adverb meaning in any case or nonetheless: He objected, but she went anyway.
- any way: a paired adjective and noun meaning
any particular course, direction, or manner: Any way we chose would lead to danger.
Awhile/a while
- awhile: an
adverb meaning for a short time; some readers consider it nonstandard;
usually needs no preposition: Won't you stay awhile?
- a while: a paired article and noun meaning a period of time; usually
used with for: We talked for a while, and then we said good night.
Maybe/may be
- maybe: an adverb
meaning perhaps: Maybe we should wait until the rain stops.
- may
be: a form of the verb be: This may be our only chance to win the championship.
We also have an exercise available that will let you practice using these words. We are in the process of updating our grammar exercises, but for now, enjoy!