Alright? All right?
- Thread starter darrtwish
- Start date
- Status
The concensus appears to be to use 'all right', but 'alright' is in the Oxford Dictionary as an alternative form of spelling 'all right' but with a footnote stating it's still considered by many to be an unacceptable alternative.
(Totally off the point but 'alright' seems to be common in screen subtitles!!)
(Totally off the point but 'alright' seems to be common in screen subtitles!!)
Last edited:
You will probably get three opinions.
One, the only acceptable form is "all right", no exceptions.
Two, "all right" is preferred, especially in any sort of formal writing.
Three, "alright" is acceptable for fiction or informal writing.
Copy editors and grammar gurus have been fighting against "alright" for a century or more. Personally, I think they've just about lost the battle.
One, the only acceptable form is "all right", no exceptions.
Two, "all right" is preferred, especially in any sort of formal writing.
Three, "alright" is acceptable for fiction or informal writing.
Copy editors and grammar gurus have been fighting against "alright" for a century or more. Personally, I think they've just about lost the battle.
Alright already, This is a Q we need answered.
I use alright in the same way I use okay.
Alright, I hear you/Okay, I hear you.
Are you alright?/Are you okay?
Sure, it may be okay to do that, BUT is it all right to do that? Personally, I reckon it's a latter-day thingy where alright seems more natural. Certainly in dialogue, and is commonly used in narrative as well. Unless, as already (all ready?) said, it is a formal piece of writing.
I use alright in the same way I use okay.
Alright, I hear you/Okay, I hear you.
Are you alright?/Are you okay?
Sure, it may be okay to do that, BUT is it all right to do that? Personally, I reckon it's a latter-day thingy where alright seems more natural. Certainly in dialogue, and is commonly used in narrative as well. Unless, as already (all ready?) said, it is a formal piece of writing.
Although I'm training myself to use "all right", I was always taught (in Canada, in the 60s) that "alright" is correct. So despite the fact that it is said that "alright" is "still considered an unacceptable alternative", I'm thinking that "alright" was the original spelling.
But then, I'm probably wrong!
But then, I'm probably wrong!
My policy is that unless I've seen alright in published works from the place I'm submitting to, I use all right. Clearly the other spelling is inching its way into fully acceptable usage, and has arrived in some places and with some people, but nobody anywhere is contending that all right is not correct. So unless I see indicators that alright is preferred, I stick with the sure thing.
Maryn, both all right and okay
Maryn, both all right and okay
To me, 'alright' is in the same category with 'alot.' They'll probably both be standard usage some day, but that is not this day.
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2005
- Messages
- 2,466
- Reaction score
- 365
- Location
- Florida
- Website
- www.emeraldcite.blogspot.com
John Scalzi, a very gifted and experienced writer, has a great post on this very subject.
Not to mention, a wonderful illustration:
This is what came to mind when I read your post.
Not to mention, a wonderful illustration:
This is what came to mind when I read your post.
John Scalzi, a very gifted and experienced writer, has a great post on this very subject.
Not to mention, a wonderful illustration:
This is what came to mind when I read your post.
You win.
I use "all right", though I'd prefer to use "alright", as that would be consistent with not only "already" (as Veronie said), but also "altogether", "albeit", and "always". I don't know why "all right" resists this path, but it does.
Notice, though, that the the-Who song is called "The Kids are Alright". Imagine the correct version here:
- The Kids Are All Right.
- Not All of them; some are wrong.
Seriously, "all right" is still the better-safe-than-sorry path. Even if "alright" is superior.
Notice, though, that the the-Who song is called "The Kids are Alright". Imagine the correct version here:
- The Kids Are All Right.
- Not All of them; some are wrong.
Seriously, "all right" is still the better-safe-than-sorry path. Even if "alright" is superior.
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2007
- Messages
- 6,449
- Reaction score
- 1,321
Yes.
"Already" is a real word.
"All right" is the correct rendering of two distinct words that (I believe) should never be merged. But a lot of people criss-cross the two, and so that's where (I believe) the aberration of "alright" came from.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2008
- Messages
- 619
- Reaction score
- 177
- Location
- I can't tell you.
- Website
- www.graceisforsinner.com
Good question. Here are my thoughts.....
All is right. All are right.
all right (reference to plural noun?) (seems heavier, I take it more seriously. Is all inclusive.)
alright (reference to singular noun?) (seems lighter, can say, 'okay', 'fine')
Is everything all right?
Is all/everything right in the world?
Is she alright?
Alright, listen up!
They said, 'alright'.
I don't know.....
All is right. All are right.
all right (reference to plural noun?) (seems heavier, I take it more seriously. Is all inclusive.)
alright (reference to singular noun?) (seems lighter, can say, 'okay', 'fine')
Is everything all right?
Is all/everything right in the world?
Is she alright?
Alright, listen up!
They said, 'alright'.
I don't know.....
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2008
- Messages
- 13,979
- Reaction score
- 1,533
- Location
- Wisconsin's (sore) thumb
- Website
- www.firefromthesky.org
Really truly, the dictionary is the best place to check this sort of thing.
Here's the entry for alright in the Blessed American Heritage Dictionary:
ADVERB: Nonstandard All right. See Usage Note at all right.
And the Usage Note reads:
USAGE NOTE: Despite the appearance of the form alright in works of such well-known writers as Langston Hughes and James Joyce, the single word spelling has never been accepted as standard. This is peculiar, since similar fusions such as already and altogether have never raised any objections. The difference may lie in the fact that already and altogether became single words back in the Middle Ages, whereas alright has only been around for a little more than a century and was called out by language critics as a misspelling. Consequently, one who uses alright, especially in formal writing, runs the risk that readers may view it as an error or as the willful breaking of convention.
Here's the entry for alright in the Blessed American Heritage Dictionary:
ADVERB: Nonstandard All right. See Usage Note at all right.
And the Usage Note reads:
USAGE NOTE: Despite the appearance of the form alright in works of such well-known writers as Langston Hughes and James Joyce, the single word spelling has never been accepted as standard. This is peculiar, since similar fusions such as already and altogether have never raised any objections. The difference may lie in the fact that already and altogether became single words back in the Middle Ages, whereas alright has only been around for a little more than a century and was called out by language critics as a misspelling. Consequently, one who uses alright, especially in formal writing, runs the risk that readers may view it as an error or as the willful breaking of convention.
I'm less concerned with the use of "alright" than I am by the use of "aight." (Pronounced, I think, Ah-ite.")
If the poor little phrase gets truncated anymore, we'll just use a sort of "ah" type grunt to express the idea.
... ... ... ..!
If the poor little phrase gets truncated anymore, we'll just use a sort of "ah" type grunt to express the idea.
... ... ... ..!
- Status