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Which is it: ‘Already’ or ‘All Ready’?

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Elan Yash

Elan is head of design and tech. He's also a contributor at Grammarflex.

Already vs. All Ready

👍🏼Usage Note
✓
The guests had already departed by the time we arrived.
✓
Are you all ready to leave for the concert? (Adjectival phrase meaning fully prepared)
✗
My sister is already for her first day of school.
✗
I have all ready finished my breakfast.

Commonly confused words and phrases come in a steady flow in the English language. One you may have already come across is when to use already vs. all ready. Though both sound the same aloud, they are different and should be used in the appropriate contexts.

Examples with “already” Examples with “all ready”
I’ve seen this movie twice already. Is your team all ready for the big game?

A quick tip is to pay close attention to whichever part of speech both words or phrases belong to. As an adverb, already says or qualifies something about an event or action; whereas ‘all ready‘ is an adjectival phrase that describes or modifies a noun.

Already is an adverb that emphasizes that something happened before now, “by now”, or “sooner or faster than expected”.

Examples of sentences with ‘already’

We’ve already learned this!

I’ve seen this movie twice already.

I took the turkey out of the oven already.

All ready with two words is an adjectival phrase that describes someone or something (often a group) as ‘fully prepared’ or ‘totally ready’.  

Examples sentences with ‘all ready’

Are you all ready to get in the car?

I was sick for a while, but I’m all ready to get back to work now.

Is everything all ready for dinner?

See the difference already?

💡Study Tip

“already” as a single word meaning “before now,” and “all ready” as two words meaning “completely prepared”—think of it as a team (“all”) being ready.

Synonyms of already

  • previously
  • earlier
  • by now
  • before
  • by now

Practice: Already vs. all ready

Question 1 of 5

We have ______ started eating dinner.


The kids are ______ for school.


She had ______ finished her homework before dinner.


We’re ______ to leave when you are!


Is the food ______ on the table?




FAQs

What does ‘already’ mean?
+

Based on the post, ‘already’ means something happened before a specific point in time, by now, or sooner than expected. Example from the post: “The guests had already departed.”

What part of speech is ‘already’?
+

According to the post, ‘already’ is an adverb. It qualifies an event or action and emphasizes something happened before now. Example: “We’ve already learned this!”

What does ‘all ready’ mean?
+

The post states ‘all ready’ means ‘fully prepared’ or ‘totally ready’. It describes someone or something. Example: “Are you all ready to leave for the concert?”

What part of speech is ‘all ready’?
+

The post defines ‘all ready’ as an adjectival phrase. It describes or modifies a noun, indicating a state of being completely prepared. Think of ‘all’ as a team being ready.

How do I tell already vs all ready apart?
+

Pay attention to the part of speech. ‘Already’ (one word) is an adverb meaning “before now”. ‘All ready’ (two words) is an adjectival phrase meaning “completely prepared”.

Yash, D. "Which is it: ‘Already’ or ‘All Ready’?." Grammarflex, Jul 13, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/is-it-already-or-all-ready/.

Sources

  1. Already, Thesaurus.com

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