Everyday vs. Every Day: When to Use Everyday or Every Day

 

Difference between everyday vs. every day. Is it “everyday” or “every day?” Many people deal with this question often when writing. These two words are pronounced exactly the same and seem to be used interchangeably. The question of whether to use everyday or every day in writing can be a tricky one to answer. This is especially true because in daily conversation, there really is no difference between the two.

Everyday vs. Every Day

Don’t worry though! Today, I’ve got you covered. Although the question of which one to use may seem difficult, it’s probably not as tough as you think. If you follow these easy to understand rules, you’ll be a master in no time!

Here are some easy ways to remember if you should be using everyday vs. every day in your writing.

When to Use Everyday

• Without getting to grammatical on you, “everyday” is used as an adjective. That means that it describes a person, place, or a thing.
• We can use the word “everyday” to describe something that is general or common.

Example:

• I like her common-sense approach to everyday problems.

When to Use Every Day

• The phrase “every day” is not an adjective and describes when something happens or takes place.
• We use these words to say that someone does something or that something happens on a daily schedule. It can also mean “each day” or “all days.”

Example:

• We work every day except Sunday.

Tips for Using Everyday or Every Day

Now comes the challenge. How do you know which one to use? Here are a few quick and easy tips.

1. Does it answer the question “when?”

If this is the case, then you want to use “every day.” This can come up when talking about your daily habits. This can also often be used to describe what people do regularly or something that happens all of the time.

Here’s an example:

• Speaker 1: So how is the weather over there?
• Speaker 2: It has been pretty bad. Recently it has been raining every day.

And here’s another:

• Speaker 1: Hey, you’re in pretty good shape. Did you play any sports?
• Speaker 2: Yeah! I played football in high school.
• Speaker 1: That’s cool! How often do you work out?
• Speaker 2: When I was in high school, I used to work out every day. I’m busy now, so I try to work out about three times a week.

2. Does it come before a word?

If the answer to this question is yes, then it’s more than likely you will use the word “everyday.”

For example, let’s look at the following conversation:

• Speaker 1: Wow! You look nice. Why are you dressed up?
• Speaker 2: Who me? I’m not dressed up. These are my everyday clothes.

NOTE: You still want to be careful when using this question. “Every day” can still come before a word, but it will usually be an introduction to the sentence.

Let’s take a look:

• Speaker 1: You’re on vacation now right? What have you been up to?
• Speaker 2: Every day, I wake up and go out for a walk. It’s a nice way to start my day.

That does it for our tips on when to use everyday vs. every day. Now that you understand how, when, and why to use each one, you should have no problems producing great, everyday writing every day!

Everyday vs. Every Day Examples

• She wanted to escape the monotony of her everyday life.
• School is an everyday event for most children.
• Complaints seemed to be an everyday occurrence.
• Warhol used everyday items as the raw ingredients of his art.
• She commutes from Oxford to London every day.
• The secretary has a large amount of mail to answer every day.
• He wears a crisp white shirt to the office every day.
• The students have lectures every day.

How to Use Everyday vs. Every Day | Picture

Difference between Everyday vs. Every Day