Altogether vs All Together

Vocabulary / Lesson

Altogether vs All Together

Altogether means in total, completely or overall. All together means everyone or everything in a group, place or shared activity.

B1–B2 · About 20 minutes

Created by , British English teacher.

Your goal: Use altogether for a total, completeness or an overall judgement, and all together for people or things acting as a group.

Read each explanation, listen to a model and respond aloud at each You say pause. Reveal the model after your attempt, check one point and try again. Finish with the mastery quiz and your own short response.

Choose your listening model

Listen to the same examples in either accent. Say what each highlighted expression means before repeating the sentence. Meaning and context tell you which spelling to use.

Altogether and all together can sound very similar. Do not use an imagined pause as a spelling rule. Both accents use the same meanings.

1. Four meanings to recognise

The same letters can express different ideas. Begin with what you mean, then choose one word or two.

ALTOGETHER · in total

“The tickets cost thirty pounds altogether.” Add up the cost: the total is £30.

ALTOGETHER · completely

“We stopped using paper tickets altogether.” We stopped completely.

ALTOGETHER · overall

“Altogether, it was a useful afternoon.” This gives an overall judgement after considering the experience.

ALL TOGETHER · as a group

“We were all together in the same room.” Everyone was in one place. In “Say it all together”, everyone speaks at the same time.

A quick meaning test: can you replace it with in total, completely or overall? Try altogether. Do you mean people or things together as a group? Try all together.

Altogether: a total

The tickets cost thirty pounds altogether.

Altogether: completely

We stopped using paper tickets altogether.

Altogether: overall

Altogether, it was a useful afternoon.

All together: one group

We were all together in the same room.

All together: at the same time

Please say the final line all together.

2. Two patterns that help

Useful patterns
PatternMeaningFresh example
not altogether + adjectivenot completelyI am not altogether convinced. I still have some doubts.
all + verb + togethereveryone does the action togetherWe all arrived together. Everyone arrived as one group.

Not altogether can make a judgement less absolute. “I am not altogether convinced” leaves room for doubt; it does not necessarily mean “I completely reject the idea”.

The group meaning lets all and together separate: We were all together can become We all stood together. The one-word adverb cannot split in this way.

Listen for meaning: the two expressions may sound almost identical in ordinary speech. Context tells the listener whether you mean a total, a complete change or a group. You do not have to create an artificial pause between all and together.

Not altogether: not completely

I am not altogether convinced by the plan.

3. One outing, two different messages

Four friends visit a small exhibition. They meet at the entrance, buy four £6 tickets and then explore.

Talking about the price

“It was £24 altogether.” The speaker adds up the tickets.

Talking about the people

“We went in all together.” The friends entered as one group.

Now compare two opinions: “The new exhibition is altogether different” describes a complete difference. “Altogether, I preferred the new exhibition” introduces an overall judgement.

An ambiguity worth noticing

“There were twelve of us altogether” gives a total. “We were all together” describes the group being together. In an unclear sentence, rewrite the idea explicitly as “in total” or “in one group”. This is often clearer than arguing about the spelling alone.

Repair and explain

Try each repair aloud or in writing before revealing the answer.

Repair this sentence about a total price: “The two books cost £18 all together.”

Check the repair

The two books cost £18 altogether.

The intended meaning is in total, so use the single word.

Repair this instruction to a group: “Please stand altogether for the photo.”

Check the repair

Please stand all together for the photo.

The instruction asks the people to form one group.

Someone writes, “I am not all together sure.” They mean that they still have doubts. Repair it.

Check the repair

I am not altogether sure.

Not altogether means not completely. It describes the degree of certainty.

Mastery quiz

Open the ten-question mastery quiz

Choose one answer for each question, then check your answers. Read the explanations and retry any you missed. Opening and closing this panel keeps your answers on this page.

1. Two coffees cost £3 each. They cost £6 ___.
2. The whole family is in one room. “We are ___.”
3. The office has stopped printing receipts ___. It now sends every receipt by email.
4. “I am not altogether satisfied” most directly means…
5. “___, the weekend was a success, despite the rain.” Choose the overall judgement.
6. The teacher asks everyone to say one sentence at the same time: “Say it ___.”
7. Which sentence preserves the group meaning of “We were all together”?
8. Can you reliably choose the spelling just by listening for a pause?
9. “The new plan is altogether different” means it is…
10. Choose the pair that fits: “There were ten of us ___, and we arrived ___ as one group.”

Answer key and explanations
  1. altogether Altogether means in total: 3 + 3 = 6.
  2. all together All together describes the family as one group.
  3. altogether Altogether means completely in this change.
  4. I am not completely satisfied There is some dissatisfaction, but the sentence need not reject everything.
  5. Altogether Altogether introduces an overall assessment here.
  6. all together All together means everyone speaking together.
  7. We all stood together All and together can be separated by the verb in this group meaning.
  8. No, you need the meaning and context The expressions may sound very similar. Use the meaning.
  9. completely different Altogether strengthens different: completely different.
  10. altogether / all together Altogether gives the total of ten. All together describes how they arrived.

Put it into practice

Write or say a three-sentence review of an event. Give a total, describe the group and make an overall judgement. Read it aloud to check that each meaning is clear.

Self-check: Underline each expression. Replace altogether with in total, completely or overall. Replace all together with as one group where the meaning fits.

Compare with one possible response

There were eight of us altogether, and the meal cost £96 in total. We sat all together at one long table. Altogether, it was a lovely way to finish the week.

Next time: return to one point you missed and make a fresh example before replaying a model.