Already and All Ready
What is the difference between all ready and already?
All ready means completely prepared.
Already means prior to a specified or implied time.
All ready means completely prepared.
Already means prior to a specified or implied time.
Already and All Ready
The terms already and all ready sound identical and are sometimes confused.Already
The word already is an adverb meaning prior to a specified or implied time or as early as now.- It is already illegal to culture human-animal embryos for more than fourteen days.
(already = since before now)
- When they pulled the shark up in the net it was already dead.
(already = since before then)
- The wild Hepatica Nobilis flowers are already blooming — one month earlier than last year.
(already = as early as now)
All Ready
The term all ready means completely prepared. It is slightly more emphatic than just prepared.Example:
- Jillian is all ready. Mark is prepared to brief.
(Most readers would assume Jillian's state of preparedness to be higher than Mark's.)
Example:
- Is the tent ready? Is Jane ready? Are you ready? Are you all ready?
All Ready Equals Ready
Ready can replace all ready but not already.Try to use just ready. If your sentence still makes sense, then you are safe to use all ready; otherwise, use already. For example:
- Jean is all ready.
(Try the substitution: Jean is ready.
(As ready sounds okay, all ready is correct.) - I have already seen this film. (Try the substitution: I have ready seen this film.
(As ready sounds wrong, all ready must be wrong, and already is correct.)
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