Every day vs. Everyday
It's amazing how much difference a tiny space can make! The words "every day" and "everyday" are identical, except for that tiny space. These words, which are often confused and used incorrectly, actually mean different things. Let's take a closer look.
Every day is a phrase. The noun is "day," and "every" is an adverb. You would use the phrase when you are talking about an action that occurs "every" day.
1. I walk to school every day.
2. Every day, my dog has a Milkbone for breakfast.
3. When we go on vacation, can we go swimming every day?
4. My teacher says we should read every day because this will improve our grades.
Everyday is an adjective. It is used to describe nouns, and it means ordinary or commonplace.
1. I am going to wear my everyday shoes for the trip and just change into my dress shoes when I get there.
2. We use the everyday dishes for most meals, but Mom will get out the fancy China when we have company.
3. I think my room is everyday clean right now, but it's definitely not company clean.
4. Today, we had a different schedule at school because of a guest speaker, but tomorrow we will be back to the everyday schedule.
As you can see, these words do mean very different things. "Every day" is a phrase-day is a noun and every is an adverb. "Everyday" is an adjective. They are often used incorrectly, but with a little explanation and a little thought, you can use these terms correctly every day.