play illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day
Commonly Confused

'Everyday' vs. 'Every Day'

A simple trick to keep them separate


They're two of the most-confused words in English. Here's a simple method to sort them out.

Transcript

The choice between everyday, one word, and every day, two words, depends on how it's used. Everyday, one word, is an adjective meaning "used or seen daily," or "ordinary." "The phone calls were an everyday occurrence." Every day, two words, is an adverb phrase meaning "daily" or "every weekday." "They go to the coffee shop every day." One trick to remember which is which is to see if you can put another word between "every" and "day," as in "every single day." If you can, you want the two-word adverb.

Up next

play illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day
'Everyday' vs. 'Every Day'

 

A simple trick to keep them separate

play video mischievous nulcear library mispronunciations
'Mispronunciations' That May Be Fine

 

'Mischievous,' 'nuclear,' and other words to pronounce with caution.

play calendar that says day today
Is It 'day today' or 'day-to-day'?

 

What about Day Tomorrow?

play alt-5db61f2bd1cc5
How Do You Pronounce 'Groceries'?

 

Is there one standard way?

play ismo merriam webster tip
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "People Tipping"

 

Comedian ISMO on the complexities of the word 'tip'

play further vs farther video
Further vs. Farther

 

They started as same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.

play video title words of the year 1066
Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest