"alright" instead of "all right"

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Valerie Sellards
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"alright" instead of "all right"

Post by Valerie Sellards »

Hi, I am getting ready to start my first book review, and I was hoping to get some advice. I majored in English, and I am a stickler, but I do not want to be too nit-picky. The book I chose uses "alright" instead of the correct form "all right" throughout the book. If I had to guess, I would say it's used over 70 times. I read the book on my phone and just finally started highlighting it instead of writing down each page it was on. My question is: Is this worth mentioning? Most people think "alright" is a word anyway. I seriously do not think I could list every time it's used. I will go with the majority on this.
Thank you so much for your advice.
Valerie
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Bigwig1973
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Post by Bigwig1973 »

I would make note of it being used. If you think it's stylistic, then I'd maybe still mention it in uncounted errors. It actually isn't underlined as incorrect when I type it here - alright - and it is in the dictionary. The dictionary I have states that it "...is not considered acceptable in standard English." But, if someone was just looking to see whether or not the word exists as a word, that would appear to be the case. They would actually have to read the entire entry. :roll: :o
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Valerie Sellards
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Post by Valerie Sellards »

That sounds reasonable. Thank you!
Blessing O 2
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Post by Blessing O 2 »

It's the author's style I guess but not an error.
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Post by Kaitlyn Canedy »

Valerie Sellards wrote: 24 Jan 2022, 08:13 Hi, I am getting ready to start my first book review, and I was hoping to get some advice. I majored in English, and I am a stickler, but I do not want to be too nit-picky. The book I chose uses "alright" instead of the correct form "all right" throughout the book. If I had to guess, I would say it's used over 70 times. I read the book on my phone and just finally started highlighting it instead of writing down each page it was on. My question is: Is this worth mentioning? Most people think "alright" is a word anyway. I seriously do not think I could list every time it's used. I will go with the majority on this.
Thank you so much for your advice.
Valerie
It would depend on how it is being used. "Alright" and "all right" have two very different meanings. The following sentences demonstrate how both are used.

"Alright, let's get to work."
"I think the test answers were all right."

In both cases, they are correct. However, you can't swap "alright" and "all right" in these examples. Hopefully, the two articles I have provided below will be of assistance. :tiphat:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-a ... is-correct
https://writingexplained.org/alright-vs ... difference
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Post by Blessing O 2 »

Katie Canedy, thanks for the information.
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