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 drive safe ly
Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

 

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

play is none singular or plural video
Is 'none' singular or plural?

 

Or both? Or neither?

play videos pictures in the dictionary
Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

play video cynic
The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

play video who vs whom
Who vs. Whom

 

Good news for those who feel stuffy saying 'whom.'

play how to use a dictionary
How to Use a Dictionary

 

The best way to find information in the dictionary