Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Is it “a lot” or “alot”? Or maybe “allot”? Today we’re talking about compound words in English. These words sound the same or very similar when we say them, but in writing we need to know which to use. Autocorrect won’t help you here – it will often choose the wrong word for you! In some cases, these compound words are different accepted spellings of the same word. Sometimes, though, they’re words with different meanings. And sometimes, one version is just wrong! Learn these once and for all so you don’t have to search for the answer every time you want to write an email. Then test your knowledge with the quiz: engvid.com/compound-word-mistakes

Next, learn about more common English mistakes with these videos:
One-Minute English: Confusing Words youtu.be/j5BwUE880G8
Learn English: "Make" or "Do"? youtu.be/lvKA9rH_WlU

In this lesson:
00:00 5 Compound Word Mistakes in English
01:01 "a while" or "awhile"?
02:21 "all right" or "alright"?
04:22 "everyday" or "every day"?
06:03 "altogether" or "all together"?
07:18 "alot", "a lot", or "allot"?
09:18 – Quiz –
12:44 "some time" or "sometime"?
14:08 – Homework –