20 Pairs of One-Word and Two-Word Forms

Posted: February 21, 2012

[caption id="attachment_9785" align="alignright" width="425"]© vlorzor - Fotolia.com[/caption]Many common words and phrases are identical except for a strategic letter space — apart and “a part” come to mind — and though knowing which form to use in a sentence is often obvious (as in that example), the difference can be subtle. Here are some of the less clear-cut pairs:

1. Ahold/a hold: Ahold is a variant of the noun hold, used in such sentences as “I’ll get ahold of you later.” But when you mean to refer to an actual grip on something, use two words: “She really has a hold on you.” If it’s hard to decide which form to employ, try this test: If you can insert an adjective between a and hold, the two-word form is appropriate.

2. Already/all ready: Use the former when you need an adverb, as in “I told you already.” The latter form is correct in sentences such as “We’re all ready for the party.”

3. Alot/a lot: These two forms are interchangeable except in one significant respect: The one-word version is wrong. It is used often in informal writing and may one day be standard, but until you get the official memo, refrain from using it if you want to be taken seriously as a writer.

4. Alright/all right: See item number 3.

5. Altogether/all together: The one-word form, an adverb, suffices to mean “completely” or “in total,” as in “Altogether, we saved $100 on the deal.” (It also means “nude” in the idiomatic phrase “in the altogether.”) The phrase is appropriate for sentences such as “We are all together in this.”

6. Anybody/any body: The on-word form is a pronoun used in such constructions as “He doesn’t get along with anybody.” The two-word adjective-noun form is applicable in limited contexts, such as in the sentence “Any body in motion responds to gravity.”

7. Anymore/any more: The one-word form is used as an adverb in sentences such as “We don’t go there anymore”; the two-word form consists of the adjective any and the noun more, as in “I just can’t eat any more of that pie.”

8. Anyone/any one: The one-word form is a pronoun, synonymous with anybody, used as in “Anyone can make that claim.” “Any one” consists of the adjective any and the noun one, as in “Any one of you might be next.”

9. Anyplace/any place: The adverb anyplace is a synonym for anywhere: “She won’t let me go anyplace without her.” The latter usage is an adjective-and-noun phrase that describes a location: “He doesn’t want to go to any place he can’t smoke.”

10. Anything/any thing: Anything is the likely usage: “I don’t remember anything.” The two-word adjective-noun form is generally separated by an another adjective: “She’s just does any little thing she wants.”

See the complete list of 20 Pairs of One-Word and Two-Word Forms

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