by Carolynn Carey
Do you ever write a letter in longhand? I rarely do these days, but I fondly recall when buying fancy new stationery and matching envelopes was a treat, and writing a letter was an enjoyable activity rather than a chore.
Now, of course, if I need to communicate with someone, a handwritten letter would be last on my list of preferences. My first choice would be an e-mail followed closely by a phone call, with various other options at my disposal. And while communication methods have grown more diverse, they’ve also become more casual. Rarely do folks worry about grammatical rules when e-mailing or texting friends.
But of course we occasionally have to write a business or more formal letter, and on those occasions, it’s wise to be aware of standard usage.
For example, there are many instances in which we might need to choose between writing two separate words or a single word. Why choose? Because the meanings will differ. Following are a few possible problem causers:
altogether vs. all together: The first means entirely or completely (as in That’s altogether wrong or Altogether, I’m glad I didn’t go). You would use two words only in referring to a unity such as The family members were all together at Christmas.
already vs. all ready: The first refers to time, as inHe had already left when I got there, whereas the second refers to whether people are prepared, as in The participants were all ready to begin.
alright vs. all right: The first is considered nonstandard and should be avoided.
anyone vs. any one: The first is a singular indefinite pronoun, as in Anyone should know that. The phrase any one should be used to emphasize a single person or thing, as in Any one of us could have made that mistake.
awhile vs. a while: The first is an adverb (as in, Let’s rest here awhile). The second is a noun phrase that usually follows a preposition (as in, I’ll be there for a while or She’ll be arriving in a while).
These are just a few examples of the differences between the meanings when we use one versus two words. I’ll cover more in a future blog.
The important thing to remember is that there are differences. If you’re not sure which version to use, consult a dictionary. That’s always a good bet.
{ 1 comment }
Awesome! I get these wrong all the time. Just looking at them doesn’t always make sense as to which it is supposed to be. Thanks for sharing with us!