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 schwa
The Schwa

 

The most common vowel sound in English causes many spelling problems.

play ismo merriam webster trunk boot
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

 

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

play contractions
On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

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

 

Comedian ISMO on the complexities of the word 'tip'

play video its vs its
Its vs. It's

 

Some practical guidance, and interesting history, about a common mistake.

play sneaked vs snuck video
Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary