awhile or a while?

I say awhile.

I'm having the same problem with alright vs. all right, but the dictionary tells me Word is correct on this one (two words).

I write a while, a lot, and alright. Word never says anything but I noticed it doesn't mind the other ways, either.

It's always been "a lot" and "all right", even though "alot" and "alright" are very very common errors--and I know some people who learned them in school (!)

"Awhile" versus "a while" is more complicated. Usually, it's correct to use "awhile" only as a simple preposition-- "I was there awhile" or "Stay awhile." If you have a more complex clause, it's really better to use "a while"-- "After a while, every donut tastes the same to you."

Note: What the Merriam-Webster is saying on this is the same as what I'm saying, only in dictionary-speak. "A while" is always correct; "awhile" is correct as a simple descriptive preposition.

IceCreamEmpress beat me to this one, too, and said exactly what I was going to say!

"Awhile" is an adverb ("We stayed awhile"), which is why you would use "a while" as the object of a preposition.

"Alright" is often considered poor spelling, especially by the Americans, I believe. But hey, "already" is a legitimate word, no? How about "altogether"?

I'm comfortable with my "alright"s.

Pat~ said:

My Word program likes "a while" and keeps putting those annoying little red squiggly lines under "awhile"--which is in the Merriam Webster Dictionary.

So which is right?

Click to expand...

I basically think of the word "awhile" as short for the phrase: "for a while".

That seems to keep me out of trouble, somewhat.

So if I'm line-editing, or "reading," and I see the word "awhile," I sorta mentally replace it with the phrase "for a while."

I confess that alot and alright make my eyes twitch. Awhile--not so much, especially when used as a simple preposition.