One Word or Two?

Sometimes they have different meanings, sometimes they’re not words.

Feb 28, 2007

A lot or alot? A while or awhile? All together or altogether? Learn the differences between these common multi-word errors that drive us crazy!

I have several pet peeves when it comes to grammar, and ‘alot’ is one of them. It wouldn’t be so bad if ‘a lot’ and ‘alot’ had to separate meanings; mostly it bugs me because ‘alot’ is not a word!

What ARE the rules for such words that can be used together or separately? Which words are we using together that aren’t real words? Find a short list below:

A lot and alot: ‘a lot’ is not a word. End of pet peeve.

A while and awhile: ‘awhile’ means ‘for a short time’ and ‘a while’ means ‘a while.’ One way to remember this is to replace your word choice with that phrase in a sentence. “I’m going to be gone for awhile,” becomes “I’m going to be gone for for a short time,” so you can see that ‘awhile’ is not the right fit. In this case you would say, “I’m going to be gone for a while,” or simply, “I’m going to be gone awhile.”

All together and altogether: ‘altogether’ means ‘completely’ or ‘entirely,’ where as all together means ‘in a group.’ To test the appropriate word for your context, replace it with its definition. “They were altogether in one bag.” Should you use ‘altogether’ or ‘all together?’ ‘Altogether gives you, “they were completely in one bag,” and ‘all together’ gives you, “they were in a group in one bag.” Here you can see ‘all together’ is the best choice.

In to and into: ‘into’ is used to describe ‘where,’ such as, “he ran into the store,” ‘when,’ as in “it lasted into the evening,” and to describe math, as in, “four into eight is two,” ‘In to’ is not necessarily a connected phrase, but rather a case of two words that happen to be next to each other where ‘to’ can be replaced by ‘for the purpose of.’ For example, “she reached in to grab the prize” is a sentence that describes a purpose. Since you don’t know what she is reaching in, you would not use ‘into.’ She isn’t reaching into a grab (grab being the ‘where’), she is reaching in for the purpose of doing something (grab the prize).

On to and onto: ‘onto’ can be replaced with ‘on top of’ in most instances to help you decide which words are proper. ‘On to’ is much like ‘in to’ in that the two words just happen to end up side by side, and can be read aloud with a distinct pause between the two words to help you decide which words are proper. If you “put the paper onto the stove,” you are putting the paper on top of the stove. If you “went on to college,” you are going on…to college. For ‘in to’ and ‘on to’ you can remove what ‘to’ refers to and the phrase will still make sense. “She went on to say,” becomes, “she went on,” and “he went in to get milk,” becomes “he went in.”

Aloud and out loud: these two words/phrases mean the same thing. The problem comes into play when ‘aloud’ is used interchangeably with ‘allowed,’ as these two words are not related in meaning.