Everyday vs. Every Day How to Choose the Right Word

The space between two words can make a big difference: Everyday doesnt mean the same thing as every day. Like anyone and any one or anytime and any time, these two terms sound exactly the same and are often confused, though one is strictly an adjective and the other is an adverbial phrase. How to Use Everyday The adjective everyday (written as one word) means routine, ordinary, or commonplace. Its frequently paired with the word occurrence to describe something mundane. The word often directly precedes the noun it modifies, such as when we say that something is an everyday activity or an everyday habit. How to Use Every Day Every day (written as two words) is an adverbial phrase—a group of words that functions as an adverb—that means each day or daily. Its used to refer to repeated actions or occurrences. Unlike the adjective everyday, every day usually follows the verb it modifies, such as when we say that we exercise every day or read the newspaper every day. Examples Though everyday and every day have related meanings, they are different parts of speech, and you can usually tell which one is appropriate to use by looking at the context. As an adjective, everyday is always used to modify nouns: When youre in low spirits, it can be challenging to do even small everyday chores.Robert wanted to buy a durable, lightweight jacket for everyday use. Every day, as an adverbial phrase, is always used to modify verbs: Every day I watch the evening news to find out about the weather.He has to suffer through a long commute every day. In the first example, every day modifies the verb watch; in the second, it modifies the verb suffer. How to Remember the Difference One way to make sure youre using every day correctly is to replace it with the phrase each day (or something even more specific such as every Monday). If you can do so, youve used the expression correctly: Every day I watch the evening news to find out about the weather.Each day I watch the evening news to find out about the weather. If you cant replace the word with each day, then you need to use everyday instead: Robert wanted to buy a durable, lightweight jacket for everyday use.Robert wanted to buy a durable, lightweight jacket for each day use. Each day is obviously incorrect; this example calls for an adjective to modify use. Another tip is to insert the adjective single between every and day. If you can do this and the sentence still makes sense, then the two-word every day is the appropriate phrase: Two words:  You have to do  your exercises every day.Single test:  You have to do  your exercises every single  day.Adjectival, one word:  You have  to do your everyday exercises.Incorrect change: You have to do your every single day exercises. Notice how the incorrect change doesnt make sense as it is written. After reading it, you want to rearrange the words in the correct order. Language expert Charles Harrington Elster, in his book The Accidents of Style, sums up the difference between every day and everyday quite succinctly: If something can be used every day, it is suitable for everyday use. Some chores must be done every day, which makes them everyday chores. Sources Carroll, William. The Untied Stats on American: And Other Computer Assisted Writing Errors. iUniverse, Inc., 2005, p. 39.Elster, Charles Harrington. The Accidents of Style: Good Advice on How Not to Write Badly. St. Martins Griffin, 2010, p. 13.