My friend always corrects me that I shouldn't use aloud, that it isn't right, that I should use out loud. Is it wrong to use aloud?
If it isn't can I get an example to show my friend? She likes to think she is a grammer pro and nitpicks mine all of the time.
aloud or out loud?
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- Grand Panjandrum
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Well, I think it's the other way around.
Brazilian dude
From Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English UsageOut loud was once widely decried as an error for aloud, and it is still sometimes described as a colloquialism to be avoided in formal writing. Its first recorded use was in the early 19h century:
Lord Andover in the presence of Lord and Lady Suffolk and speaking out loud - Maria Edgeworth, letter, 1921 (OED Supplement)
Its heyday as an object of criticism came about a hundred years later, when American commentators such as MacCracken & Sandison 1717, Ball 1923, Woolley & Scott 1926, and Krapp 1927 routinely prescribed against it in their books. While its notoriety has dimished, it still survives as a usage topic in composition textbooks for high school and college students and in Garner 1998.
Our abundant written evidence for out loud shows clearly that it is not a colloquialism. We would agree that aloud is more likely in solemn writing (Garner says it is much more frequent), but in general use the two terms are essentially interchangeable:
She read it aloud to my classmates - Russell Baker, Growing Up, 1982
He was reading my words out loud to the entire class - Russell Baker, Growing Up, 982
... being permitted to think aloud with friends and colleagues - Bruce Dearing, CEA Forum, April 1971
... afraid to let themsedlves or others think out loud - Nehemiah Jordan, Themes in Speculative Psychology, 1968
A distinctive and exclusive use of out loud is in the idiom "for crying out loud!". It is also preferred to aloud following the verb laugh:
... Mazeppa makes him laugh out loud - Robert Craft, N. Y. Rev. of Books, 25 Feb. 1971
He laughed out loud - E. L. Doctorow, Loon Lake, 1979
Brazilian dude
Languages rule!
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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Oh, for crying out loud; it is allowed!
The American Heritage Dictionary has entries for both words, although I'm not sure I see a real difference.
The American Heritage Dictionary has entries for both words, although I'm not sure I see a real difference.
I think there may be a connotation to out loud that makes it a stronger, or louder, manner than aloud, so these words are used in different situations. For instance, one of the definitions of the word out as an adverb is:aloud
ADVERB: 1. With use of the voice; orally: Read this passage aloud. 2. In a loud tone; loudly: crying aloud for help.
out loud
ADVERB: Loud enough to be audible; aloud: read the poem out loud.
For example, the statement:10. Without inhibition; boldly: Speak out.
is not as strong as the command:She read the book aloud to the class.
Read it out loud so everyone can hear!
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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- Grand Panjandrum
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- Junior Lexiterian
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Re: aloud or out loud?
It all depends of the context that you're using the two... For example, if someone is reading a book (silently) and you want to hear it too, you would say "read it aloud" ... [ aloud - verbally] ....
'Out loud' is used in an example like this : "Please read it out loud so the kids in the back can hear you"
I hope this answers your inquiry
'Out loud' is used in an example like this : "Please read it out loud so the kids in the back can hear you"
I hope this answers your inquiry
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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