The English Oracle

Why are some words combined into a single word while others stay as two words?

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Chapters
00:00 Why Are Some Words Combined Into A Single Word While Others Stay As Two Words?
00:34 Answer 1 Score 2
00:58 Accepted Answer Score 7
01:27 Thank you

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Tags
#compounds

#avk47



ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 7


Language is always changing, and most often in the direction of simplification. You can even see the evolution happening before your own eyes. "All ready" became "already"; "all right" is in the process, through usage and repetition, of becoming "alright" (if not in fact "a'ight"). It is already accepted as an informal alternative to "all right" and I predict that it will supplant the two-word version altogether (!) except in the most formal writing (e.g., academic papers) within the lifetimes of many of us.




ANSWER 2

Score 2


Pure convention. Unfortunately, there isn't a logical reason why some of those are written as a single word, and some aren't. It's essentially a matter of tradition. Consider especially the case of "no one", which is very clearly a single phonological word with a single word stress, but which has never been accepted as a compound.