I often see these two words similar sounding words confused in manuscripts I edit for writers.

“Altogether” means “completely” or “entirely” as in “When it came to knowing when to use who and whom, the writer was altogether confused.”

“All together” means “in a group” as in “The chimpanzees sat all together in the exhibit’s corner.”

Here’s an easy way to not look like a monkey when using the two words: “Altogether” is one complete word while “all together” is a group of words.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 300 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.