The Difference between "Every Day" and "Everyday" (Audio Reading Included)
- Alex
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Level: intermediate (B1)
Quick Reference
"Every day" is an adverbial phrase. It describes the frequency of something and means "all of the days," "each day," or "daily." For example, "I call my mom every day." In short, it answers the question, "How often?" and usually comes at the end of a sentence.
"Everyday" is usually used as an adjective. It typically comes before a noun and means "regular," "frequent," "normal," "common" or "used with regularity." For example, "I want to buy some everyday shoes."
In a lesson common usage, you can use "everyday" as a noun which means "ordinary life," "regular life," or "one's daily routine." This is usually used in the phrase "the everyday." For example, "I need a break from the everyday."
Pronunciation: In "every day," day is usually stressed. In "everyday," the first syllable, ev, is stressed.
If you're not sure whether or not you should write "every day" or "everyday," fear not. The difference is quite simple, and once you learn it, you'll be much less likely to doubt yourself ever again.
What's the difference between "every day" and "everyday"?
Every day
In most situations when you ask yourself, "Is it every day with a space, or everyday without a space?" the answer is usually "every day." The fact is, "every day" has a much higher frequency of usage. Let me show you what I mean with some easy-to-understand examples:
"We text each other every day."
"You should brush your teeth every day."
"We used to play soccer every day after school."
"It has rained every day this week."
"Lately, she has been going to the gym every day."
As you can see, you probably use "every day" almost every day. In short, "every day" means "each day," "daily," or "on all of the days." In grammatical terms, "every day" is an adverbial phrase which refers to the frequency of an action. It answers the question, "How often?" For example, "How often do you text each other?" "Every day." "How often has it rained this week?" "Every day."
You can use "every day" as a standalone answer to a question, or you can put it where it usually goes: at the end of a clause or sentence. Finally, if you are someone who is learning English as a second language and you are wondering about word stress when you are speaking, in "every day," the word "day" is stressed.
Now, let's move on to "everyday."
Everyday
"Everyday" is not an everyday word. Take a look at these examples:
"A hurricane is not an everyday event."
"You need to find ways to keep your everyday life interesting."
"Cooking is part of his everyday routine."
"In most parts of the world, a smartphone is an everyday tool."
"I want to buy some everyday shoes."
To sum up, "everyday" is most often used as an adjective. It modifies and comes before nouns. It means  "regular," "frequent," "normal," "common," "routine," or "used with regularity." "Everyday" answers the question "What kind?" or "Which?" For example, "What kind of routine?" "My everyday routine." "Which shoes?" "My everyday shoes." To clarify the difference in usage, you can have problems every day, meaning you have problems on each day of the week, or you can have everyday problems, meaning you have problems that are common or routine.
In a less common, special case, "everyday" can also be used as a noun. It is usually used in the noun phrase, "the everyday," meaning "ordinary life," "common life," or "one's daily routine." Here are three short examples to illustrate this usage:
"We went on vacation to take a break from the everyday." (Meaning, a break from ordinary life, which can feel repetitive.)
"I'm so tired of the everyday in this office." (Meaning, the daily routine in the office.)
"He's a great writer. He makes the everyday feel magical." (Meaning, he makes common life feel magical.)
Finally, in terms of pronunciation, the first syllable, ev, is stressed in the adjective "everyday."
Conclusion
While they look similar, "every day" and "everyday" have different functions. "Every day" is much more commonly used, as it is an adverbial phrase which means "daily," "on all of the days," or "on each day." On the other hand, "everyday" is usually used as an adjective before a noun or noun phrase, and it means "regular," "normal," "frequent," or "common." It is also possible to use "everyday" as a noun, but this usage is much less common.
If this information was useful, please consider purchasing one of my books. They are great for the development of vocabulary and grammatical accuracy. For example, Perfect English Questions (and How to Answer Them!) has a variety of English question types and even includes a list of the Top 100 English Questions. As always, thank you for your support and for allowing me to continue making resources just like this one.
Until next time, keep learning, keep practicing.
