"All Right" Versus "Alright"

This topic concerns three sets of words that are easy to confuse: “all together” (two words) and “altogether” (one word), “all ready” (two words) and “already” (one word), and “all right” (two words) and “alright” (one word). As we’ll see shortly, one of these six words isn't even a real word.

“All Together” and “Altogether”
Let’s tackle the easy stuff first: words that really are words. Our first pair of real words is “all together” (two words) and “altogether” (one word). The two-word phrase “all together” simply means “collectively”; everyone is doing something all at once or all in one place (1), as in “We sang the national anthem all together.” If you like, you can break up this two-word saying (2), as in “We all sang the national anthem together.”
“Altogether,” spelled as one word, means “entirely,” as in “We are altogether too tired.” You certainly can’t do the separation trick here. “We all are too tired together” sounds altogether silly.

“All Ready” and “Already”
Our second pair of sometimes-confused words is “all ready” (two words) and “already” (one word). “All ready” as two words means “prepared” (3), as in “The cookies are all ready to be eaten.” Again, you can separate the two words and the sentence still makes sense: “All the cookies are ready to be eaten.”
While “all ready” as two words connotes preparedness, “already” as one word is concerned with time; it means “previously,” as in “I can’t believe you ate the cookies already.” As with “altogether” as one word, you can’t do the separation trick. You can’t say, “I can’t believe you ate all the cookies ready.” That doesn’t make sense.

“All Right” and “Alright”
We’ve now come to the third pair of words. At the top of the show I told you that one of the words isn’t a real word. Is it “all right” as two words or “alright” as one word? Well, as grammarian Bill Walsh puts it in his book Lapsing Into a Comma, “We word nerds have known since second grade that alright is not all right” (4). He was talking about “alright” as one word. It's not OK.
Another style guide (5) agrees, saying that “alright” (one word) is a misspelling of “all right” (two words), which means “adequate,” “permissible,” or “satisfactory.” So you might hear the two-word phrase in sentences such as these: “His singing was just all right” or “Is it all right if I wait outside?”
It seems pretty simple: go ahead and use “all right” as two words, and stay away from “alright” as one word. But the esteemed Brian Garner (6) notes that “alright” as one word “may be gaining a shadowy acceptance in British English.” And the American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style (7) seems to contradict itself. It states that “alright” as one word “has never been accepted as standard” but it then goes on to explain that “all right” as two words and “alright” as one word have two distinct meanings. It gives the example of the sentence “The figures are all right.” When you use “all right” as two words, the sentence means “the figures are all accurate.” When you write “The figures are alright,” with “alright” as one word, this source explains that the sentence means “the figures are satisfactory.” I’m not sure what to make of this contradiction. The many other grammar sources I checked, including a large dictionary, reject “alright” as one word. Regular listeners of this show know that language is always in flux, so perhaps “alright” as one word is gaining a small footing.

Summary
Some of you may get confused about how to use each of the words we’ve talked about in this episode. It’s just a matter of remembering what each phrase or word means. If you tend to forget, just use the dictionary to check the spelling, and remember that “alright” as one word is currently not acceptable English, though it may become so in the future.


http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/all-right-versus-alright.aspx

alright and all right : the difference

'Alright' is a nonstandard variant of 'all right'. Even though 'alright' is becoming more acceptable, it is best avoided.

- Alright Not Widely Accepted
Many people use 'alright' unaware that it is not widely accepted as a word. It should be written 'all right'. However, the merger of 'all right' to 'alright' has been underway for over a century, and it is becoming more acceptable. Mergers such as 'altogether'[/i and [i]'already' are fully acceptable. They are far older than 'alright'.

- It's Not Right and It's Not Wrong
Interestingly, the Microsoft Word spellchecker will not highlight 'alright' as an error, but it will also not suggest 'alright' if you spell it incorrectly. Therefore, Microsoft are sitting on the fence with regard to 'alright' being accepted as standard.

- Alright is Deemed More Modern by Some
Some would even argue that, through common usage, 'alright' is becoming more acceptable than 'all right'. The makers of TV show "It'll be alright on the night" are known to have considered "It'll be all right on the night", but opted for the former as a more modern version.

- Hot Tip:
AVOID ALRIGHT AND ALL RIGHT

Your readers will have different opinions on the use of 'alright' and 'all right'. Therefore, avoid both versions - especially in formal writing. This should not be difficult as they do not lend themselves to formal writing.

All right (to reinforce an assertion)
"It is overdue all right."
(Delete 'all right' or reword: It is substantially overdue.)

All right (an interjection that means 'very well' and normally at the start of a sentence)
"All right, it is time to discuss..."
(Delete 'all right' or reword: We agree that it is time to discuss...)

All right (meaning 'okay', 'in a satisfactory manner')
"Her work ethic was all right."
(Reword: Her work ethic was satisfactory.)


http://www.grammar-monster.com/easily_confused/alright_all_right.htm