News flash! ALRIGHT is not now, and never has been, a proper word! Inspiration for this week’s 5 Minute Grammar Lesson came from my college students, but alright is a VERY common mistake a lot of people make.
Here’s one way to remember that ALRIGHT isn’t a word.
Would you consider writing ALWRONG? Most likey, no. And alright is not ok either.
So do yourself a favor and separate ALL and RIGHT out into two, distinct words. Your English teacher will thank you!
And that’s your 5 Minute Grammar Lesson. For more lessons, read here.
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Welcome! I'm Michelle and I'm glad you're here. Simplify, Live, Love is a blog about simple life in rural Iowa. We are a self-employed, frugal, green, mostly homeschooling family of 6 working to go off the grid on a modern day homestead in Eastern Iowa. Please subscribe for gardening tips, green living hints, recipes, fun giveaways, and frugal ideas. Thanks for stopping by.
Merriam -Webster does list it ‘alright’ as a word, just to add to the confusion. I can see the argument if you are comparing it to all wrong. I think it may be allowable in some situations, such as if a person is going through a difficult time and is asked how they are doing. They might respond, “I’m doing alright.” This would not mean they are doing all right, that everything is good and perfect.
Nonstandard words are sometimes in the dictionary! It doesn’t make them technically correct. Alright is like alot and ain’t. Common, but still incorrect and to be avoided in formal writing. You can read more here: http://www.grammar-monster.com/easily_confused/alright_all_right.htm and here: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/all-right-versus-alright.aspx
My top grammar annoyance is the confusion between ‘less” and “fewer”.
I’ve covered that one too: http://www.simplifylivelove.com/2011/03/less-or-fewer.html