Key Difference: ‘Already’ means ‘before or by now or the time in question.’ It indicates that something has already happened, and that it has happened before its time or before it was expected to happen. ‘All Ready’, on the other hand, indicates that everything is ready, or that it is completely prepared.

The words ‘already’ and ‘all ready’ sound that same and are even almost spelled the same way; however, they are not exactly the same. In fact, they show two completely different meanings.

‘Already’ means ‘before or by now or the time in question.’ It indicates that something has already happened, and that it has happened before its time or before it was expected to happen. It suggests that the even occurred prior to some specified time, either past, present, or future. It can be said that it means so soon or so early. For example: “Are you quitting already?” This sentence indicates that the person is quitting before he was expected too, or that he was quitting too soon.

 ‘All Ready’, on the other hand, indicates that everything is ready, or that it is completely prepared. The phrase is used to show that everyone and/or everything is prepared. For example: The books are all ready to be published. This indicates that they are prepared.

In order to differentiate between the two, keep this sentence in mind: “Are you all ready? I have already left.” In this the speaker is asking the listener, if he is ready, because the speaker are left by now.

Comparison between Already and All Ready:

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