All Right / Alright

Certain sets of words in the English language tend to confuse writers. I have found the following to be among them:

ALL RIGHT / ALRIGHT

These two representations of the idea that everything is A-OK mean exactly the same thing. However, even though alright is now considered reputable, all right is more common and, among people of a certain age, anyway, definitely preferable. So in formal writing, at least, I would advise using all right. Otherwise you may come across as appearing uneducated.

Informal: And that’s when we knew that everything would be alright.

Preferable: And that’s when we knew that everything would be all right.

 

© 2016 Ann Henry, all rights reserved.

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