The decision whether to use "all together" or "altogether" causes confusion for many people, and knowing which is appropriate is important when doing any academic or professional writing. This is one of those cases where two words (or in this case, a word and a phrase) sound exactly alike but have very different meanings. Here are the ways to determine which is the proper usage.
Instructions
1. Remember that the word "altogether" means "completely," "entirely" or "almost entirely," and "in total." Sometimes the phrase "in the altogether" is used as humorous slang for "naked," as in "He was not expecting her to walk into the room while he was in the altogether." This is not a very common usage, however.
2. Remember that the phrase "all together" means "everyone," "at the same time" or "in a group." You can split up the two words and the sentence will still make sense.
3. Do some practice with using "altogether." Here are some examples:"The concert was altogether fantastic.""It's an altogether new way to look at the subject.""It was expensive, but altogether, I'm glad we went on that trip.""I am altogether certain that you should call them.""She is altogether happy with the way things worked out." "Altogether, the contributions totaled over $500."
4. Do some practice with using "all together" as a phrase or in two separate words:"The fans waited all together in line before the concert.""The fans all waited together in line before the concert.""All together, people in the room watched the political convention.""All the people in the room watched the political convention together.""We went on the trip all together.""We all went on the trip together." "All together, we went and contributed $10 apiece.""We all went together and contributed $10 apiece.""She is happy we went all together.""She is happy we all went together." "We stood around all together in the yard watching the eclipse.""We all stood around together in the yard watching the eclipse."
5. Use these terms regularly in everyday speaking or in your writing, until it comes completely naturally.
