“Every Day” Vs. “Everyday” (and Other Homonyms You Probably Mix up All the Time)
You may be forgiven for confusing “every day” with “everyday” or “any” with “any”. At the end of the day, they sound the same. But these homonyms cannot be used interchangeably in writing without drawing the ire of English teachers and other grammatical ghouls. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to tell the difference between these sound-alike words and phrases that you’ve probably gotten confused sometimes.
Which is better: “every day” or “every day”?
When choosing between “everyday” and “everyday”, remember that “everyday” is an adjective *. It means commonplace or common and is used to describe a noun.
- Example: She’s wearing casual wear – a shiny sleeveless top and satin shorts.
“Every day” is an adjective-noun phrase. The word “everyone” describes the word “day” and together they mean “every day.”
- Example: She wears the same platform sandals every day.
(* I like the exceptions: “Everyday” can also be used slang as a noun, which means something like “daily routine” in a sentence like “I’m getting used to my daily routine,” but that’s a little annoying.)
Because English is a grumpy beast, the rules governing the use of other words and phrases of the same sound, such as “any” and “any” or “all” and “all bodies,” are slightly different.
How to choose between “anyone” and “anyone”
“Any” is an indefinite pronoun that refers to any person, but not to a specific person. (It can only be used to describe people.)
- Example: Has anyone seen my coke spoon?
On the other hand, “any” is an adjective that refers to any single specific person or thing in a group. Usually it is followed by “from”.
- Example: any of the members of the “Earth, Wind and Fire” group can come to my pillow because of a fuzzy navel.
Should you use “all” or “one and all”?
Similar (but certainly not identical) rules apply to “everyone” and “everyone”.
“All” is a singular pronoun that refers to all people in a group (even if the group is “all people”). It is only used to refer to people.
- Example: Everyone in Mr. Cotter’s class was getting boring grammar, especially Barbarino.
“Everyone” is used to refer to each individual member of the group (and it can be any group; it doesn’t have to be people). Like “any one”, you usually put “of” after “every one”.
- Example: Each of The Sweathogs failed the test and Mr. Woodman was angry.
Memorization Method: When “everyone” and “one” together make up “everyone”, they mean the group. When “each” and “one” are separated, you mean separate people. (I found out about this at grammarly.com .)
The difference between “anytime” and “anytime”
A hundred years ago, “anytime” was the standard in all situations, and “anytime” did not exist, so if you don’t mind sounding a little boring, you can default to “anytime” anytime, and you will right. But if you have to use this wonderful new “anytime” things get even more complicated.
Here’s a sketch:
“Anytime” is a noun meaning “at a certain time” or “soon” in sentences such as:
“Come and enjoy my jacuzzi and Abba records anytime!” and “The guy with the Kuaaluds should be here anytime.”
“Anytime” is also an adverb (“any”) that changes the noun (“time”) in a sentence such as “I don’t have time to paint. I am curling a person.
Anytime is used as an adverb or conjunction.
Adverb: “I’m ready to go to Studio 54 anytime.”
Connection: “When you want to learn how to make macrame, call me.”
Advice:
- To test if you are using the “anytime” adverb correctly, replace the adverb with another, such as “now.”
- Every time you put a word like “in” before “anytime,” it should be two words.
Somebody, somebody, everyone (scream!)
“Someone” is an indefinite pronoun referring to some indefinite person. “Some body” is a noun referring to some indefinite body . Maybe a corpse. Maybe a body of water. Maybe work.
- Example: someone went to Plato’s Orphanage to see a body.
The same basic rules apply to “anyone,” “everyone,” and their phrases. However, this one is slightly less punishing. Because “someone” and others are often used, it is usually the right choice. How often do you write about funeral rites or the lagoon, right?
Let me leave you with something incomprehensible
Since the English language can never stop tormenting its native speakers, “someone”, “anyone” and “everyone” can be used synonymously with “someone,” “anyone,” and “everyone” (although “x-one” a little more formally), but “some body”, “any body” and “every body” cannot be used synonymously with “someone”, “any” and “everyone”. So don’t even try, Bako.