r/YouShouldKnow • u/Ok_Place_4203 • Apr 12 '26
Education YSK: 'every day' and 'everyday' are different words
Why ysk? Because a significant number of people use everyday for all forms. They're different words with different meanings. I see it absolutely everywhere.
Everyday is an adjective (describing word, like skinny, muscly, cold, heavy). It means ordinary, typical or usual. E.g. jeans are a type of everyday fashion.
You would go to the gym every day, not everyday.
But going to the gym could be an everyday (typical) thing.
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u/E1eveny Apr 12 '26
Thank you, as a non-native speaker I learned something new today.
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u/Designer-Drummer-27 Apr 12 '26
Oh, but.... whatever?.. If their language is to complicated or have a luck (lack?? sounds the same, idk) of logic, it should not be our problem
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u/shponglespore Apr 12 '26
There's nothing complicated about it. When you have two words, you put a space between them. Every and day are two separate words. Everyone knows they're two words because they pronounce them as two word. Joining them together makes a new word with a different meaning.
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u/DorkusMalorkus89 Apr 12 '26
I’ll make sure to correct people on this everyday.
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u/pssiraj Apr 12 '26
I can't believe you'd incorrectly use an every day word like that.
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u/jeffa_jaffa Apr 12 '26
I could care less that they made a mistake
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u/pssiraj Apr 12 '26
And spite of that you still commented.
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u/lordofthehomeless Apr 12 '26
That's because they could care less so they care at least a little.
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u/pssiraj Apr 12 '26
You're a new commenter so I'm weary of you.
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Apr 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/hawkinsst7 Apr 12 '26
words still have meaning, disirregardless of what they're claiming.
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u/EvidenceOk2721 Apr 14 '26
Are you sure you couldn't care less?
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u/jeffa_jaffa Apr 14 '26
I couldn’t get more annoyed by people saying “I could care less” when they mean couldn’t unless it’s for comedic effect.
And don’t get me started on advice/advise!
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u/EvidenceOk2721 Apr 15 '26
I didn't realize the affect my comment could have. Who knew it would cause such an effect.
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u/naptown-hooly Apr 12 '26
I'm right their with you on that. I am about to loose my shit on shitty grammer.
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u/anti_humor Apr 12 '26
See also: apart / a part. Almost literal opposites that get mixed up a lot. Happy to be apart of this conversation.
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u/filipinofortune Apr 13 '26
almost every time I see that on a caption it's always wrong. which you've already mentioned how bad it is because they're complete opposites
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u/iAdjunct Apr 12 '26
Same goes for “login” (noun) and “log in” (verb) and whole bunch of other things like that…
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u/shponglespore Apr 12 '26
And you know people actually know they're separate words, because nobody ever says loginned or loginnning.
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u/iAdjunct Apr 12 '26
Yep. I actually found another example of separated words on another subreddit after posting this: something vs some thing.
there were somethings she told me
Ugh
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u/Melancholic84 Apr 12 '26
Nice, as a fluent but non native English speaker, i didn’t know this.
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u/Iolair18 Apr 12 '26
As a fluent native speaker: both forms are basically used for both now in texts, etc. You figure out if it is similar to "typical" or "every single day" now from context. The youth are changing the language.
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u/EMIRofDAMAAR Apr 12 '26
I see this as well with maybe and may be, apart and a part, and a lot and alot (although this one isn’t actually a word).
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u/krazybanana Apr 12 '26
THANK YOU. The number of times I've explained this to people!! And they say shut up nerd 🥲
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26
Yeah, it's frustrating. I don't expect perfect grammar or for everyone to speak like Shakespeare. My own isn't exactly perfect. But I think mistakes like this are worth pointing out.
Everyone is just teaching each other (not eachother) the wrong way to spell it.
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u/readituser5 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
Yeah. I once had someone on Discord not include an “‘s” when they should have.
The unique situation is that, apostrophe s or not, the sentence grammatically can make sense both with or without it. So long story short: I knew something didn’t make sense, it’s just that there was no actual way to tell if the details were wrong or if it was missing the “‘s”.
So I asked… then I just got very bullying like response. :/ Essentially bullying me for not understanding their ambiguous message. For not being able to read their mind essentially. Tried to explain the issue. Got the typical “it’s not school” shit back. They just had no interest in understanding the issue. I mean… who doesn’t understand the difference between an apostrophe s and none at all? That’s wild.
It was only when someone else was complaining about that group elsewhere that I realised they kicked me off lol. Then a month later I realised someone from there sent me a giant wall of text essentially about how I should be “understanding”. Bro… what??? Did you not read the conversation? Reading comprehension anyone??? Someone couldn’t communicate for shit and then got pissy when someone else couldn’t understand them then they deliberately decided to NOT be understanding.
The whole thing was completely unhinged lolol.
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u/Electronic-Row-3554 Apr 17 '26
Sadly, many people don't understand how their own ego works, and feel like their intelligence is being attacked subconsciously so they become reactionary...and also many are just flat out d**kheads.
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
u/mrmigii I can't see your comment to reply to (where you sneered at a 'mistake' I made not putting a comma after e.g.).
I'm British. It's correct in British English. The world doesn't revolve around America. You ignorant fool.
"E.g. should generally be followed by a comma in American English (e.g., citrus fruits, e.g., oranges and lemons), as it acts as an introductory phrase for examples. However, British English often omits the comma after "e.g."."
I also never said my English was perfect and I don't expect anyone else's to be. This post isn't even about that. This is about one very common mistake. I'm happy to be informed about basic mistakes I make.
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u/SunnyGods Apr 12 '26
The thing is, spelling and spoken language are pretty separate. Just because someone spells it as one word doesn't mean it's not differemt
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u/Tao-of-Mars Apr 12 '26
The thing that drives me crazy (that nearly everyone does) is add the redundant “why” to the end of “the reason”. The ‘why’ that people add to the end is not necessary and it makes the structure redundant. The reason it drives me crazy is that ‘the reason’ is the reason. And ‘why’ is a question. You could add “for why” to “the reason” or “as to why” to make it sound more intelligible and sensible.
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u/Steki3 Apr 12 '26
If you understood them perfectly without any room for misinterpretation, what's the point? Next thing you are going tell me Shakespeare writing is improper because he made up word by mashing them together?
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u/krazybanana Apr 12 '26
Because I'm not a pedantic little bitch who corrects them in everyday usage. I only do it when they ask for a proofread of a formal thing or if they ask about this specifically.
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u/SnooSprouts6897 Apr 13 '26
Oh, come on now let Shakespeare rest in peace. He’s been gone for a long time and he can’t come back and defend himself about his improper writing, lol.
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u/daynighttrade Apr 12 '26
I see it absolutely everywhere.
I see it every day. Seeing that is an everyday occurrence
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u/HeckaCoolDudeYo Apr 12 '26
SO YOURE TELLING ME FOR MY WHOLE LIFE I REMEMBERED IT AS ONE WORD FROM THAT GOD DAMN BUDDY HOLLY SONG AND IVE BEEN SPELLING IT WRONG THIS WHOLE TIME
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u/Select_Asparagus2659 Apr 12 '26
I should add this sub to my everyday Reddit routine, because here you can learn something new every day.
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u/shponglespore Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
Alot of people fuckup their spelling everyday by mashupping their words.
They're a bunch of words like that that people routinely fuck up in the same way. Here are some examples I've collected:
- Everyday
- Workout
- Login
- Makeup
- Fuckup
- Workout
- Pullover
- Throwaway
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 13 '26
Yup. The workout sub in particular doesn't know how to spell the actual thing they're there for...
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u/mwilkens Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
Maybe because it's a workout sub and not a spelling and grammar sub who likes to talk down to people for making common spelling mistakes sub?
Edit: OP, you're a loser and a coward.
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u/sodium_hydride Apr 12 '26
This is too much nuance in a world where people cannot differentiate between break and brake.
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u/urbz102385 Apr 12 '26
Any more words we don't see used properly anymore?
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u/littlelordgenius Apr 12 '26
“A lot” is two words.
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u/urbz102385 Apr 12 '26
Ya know, this one I honestly could have sworn we learned in school back in the 90s as "alot". It's certainly not the case today, but maybe there's some Mandela effect going on with this one lol. Also I'm old, so that could be it too
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u/nopenonotatall Apr 12 '26
i’ve seen people using “noone” instead of “no one”. that’s just noon with an e and not a word!
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u/all_hail_to_me Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
“Anymore” actually. People are using it increasingly frequently for positive declaratives (e.g. “People rely too much on their devices anymore.”).
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u/urbz102385 Apr 12 '26
I actually know what you mean to a degree here. I've only heard it used a few times but it sounds very clunky, although I couldn't tell you if it's proper grammar or not.
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u/420-69-1337 Apr 12 '26
I will remember to tell every one about everyone of the things I've learned from this post.
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u/IcyCow5880 Apr 12 '26
Tupac wrote the lyric:
"And drinkin liquor was an everyday thang in my household..."
Looking at it now he basically made a double entendre of this word. It could've meant everyday in that it was a normal thing to them.
Or every day in that they drank very frequently.
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u/OutrageousRhubarb853 Apr 12 '26
Thank you OP I am a native English speaker and I must have been off sick the day they taught that. More likely I’ve just forgotten. Now that I’m thinking about it, I do that but just wasn’t sure why!
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u/ICantCoexistWithFish Apr 12 '26
Why is it different than words like anytime or anywhere? Why is there an everywhere but no everytime?
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
It isn't different to anytime.
Any time and anytime are also different words the same way that everyday and every day are.
People do the same thing with that. I see anytime constantly.
I don't know why everytime etc aren't words.
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u/SwordsAndWords Apr 13 '26
Do you have any idea how often spellcheck yells at me? I swear, it's attempting to gaslight me into thinking that compound words are their own exclusive appropriate usage. I wrote "herself" and "her self" in the same sentence, and it just red underlined the entire paragraph.
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u/examinat Apr 14 '26
You go to the gym to work out, and that’s your workout. You log in with your login.
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u/Redbird9346 Apr 14 '26
Same with "far away" and "faraway." A lot of people who post the words of "Albuquerque" by "Weird Al" Yankovic get it wrong.
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u/NovelWonderful5040 Apr 16 '26
Every day = each day (adverb).
Everyday = ordinary/usual (adjective).
Using 'everyday' for both is one of the most common mistakes I see
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u/ReaverRogue Apr 12 '26
Scraping the barrel, huh?
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26
Weird comment.
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u/ReaverRogue Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
Weird post. Seems like the sort of thing you could just let go. It can’t be an every day occurrence, surely? Sounds unpossible.
Oops and he blocked me. He’s not your every day Redditor.
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u/westcal98 Apr 13 '26
Not quite the same but people using "alot" instead of "a lot" really grinds my gears.
A "lot" generally refers to a distinct portion of land, a large quantity (often used as "a lot of"), or an object used to make a random decision (drawing lots). It also represents someone's fate, share in life, or a specific parcel/item at an auction.
Usage Examples:
Quantity: "There are a lot of people in the parking lot".
Decision by Chance: "We drew lots to see who would win the prize".
Land/Parcel: "He bought a vacant lot to build a house".
Life/Fate: "She accepted her lot in life".
Auction/Group: "The antiques were sold in one lot".
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u/cwsjr2323 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
If both speaker and hearer understand, then it is a word. With living languages, they evolve. English and other languages borrow words , even if there is an official college to decide what words are allowed. English has dropped and added letters for spelling so æ, Þ, long vs short f, j, etc are different now.
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26
Where did I say that any of them aren't words?
They are all words but they have different meanings. Therefore it's wrong to use one in place of the other.
Loads of people spell lose as loose. Is it loose now? Or both at the same time because people use both?
It's a mistake, not evolution.
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u/sir_whammy Apr 12 '26
Gotta be honest Ima keep using the one I use nobody ever mentions it anyway.
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Apr 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/shponglespore Apr 12 '26
I've been seeing it all over the place for decades including advertising material that's supposedly edited by professionals.
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u/DominusDraco Apr 12 '26
As a fluent English speaker, the meaning is exactly the same. Everyday fashion is fashion you can wear every day. Context is everything, English evolves, bitching about usage is pointless.
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
as a fluent English speaker
Maybe check your credentials
Everyday. Adjective = Regular, typical, ordinary.
Every day = each day. Daily.
They obviously share similarities, nobody said otherwise, but they're only 'exactly the same' and can be used interchangeably if you're an idiot.
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u/kwiltse123 Apr 12 '26
Grammar has become nearly pointless in our society thanks to internet shorthand, international audiences, typing on a three inch screen, spellcheck, and changes of standards (see the definition of “literally”).
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u/Snailtrooper Apr 12 '26
I get this wrong everyday. Now thanks to your post this will no longer be an every day issue.
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u/MildlySelassie Apr 12 '26
OP complaining that they don’t like a colloquial informal spelling, but framing it as a thing that others should know.
I think you should know that just because people omit (or put) a space does not mean that they have gotten the words mixed up
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26
Yeah that's it, everyone does know the difference they're just all spelling it wrong on purpose 😂
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u/MildlySelassie Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
*on porpoise
But really it’s more like they just aren’t bothering to correct when autocomplete gets the distinction wrong
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u/helen269 Apr 12 '26
Whilst we're on the subject, and this thread is showing up in popular...
It's "If I had done...", not "If I would have done..."
The grammar explanation is that "If I would have..." is the many conditional perfect (if I would have done) when you should be using the past perfect (if I had done).
Put simply, if you say "If I would have...", you're talking about an alternate timeline ("If...") where you would have done it, which implies you still didn't do it. "Well, I would have done it, but I didn't."
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u/Holiday_Title9819 Apr 12 '26
real YSK: Don't grammar police to satisfy your insecurities, it's petty.
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26
Not sure how informing people they're different words means I have insecurities. Interesting.
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u/Freedom_33 Apr 12 '26
Is this one of those things we’d have to accept as has changed through usage? Like Irregardless (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregardless)
“Is irregardless a word? Yes. It may not be a word that you like, or a word that you would use in a term paper, but irregardless certainly is a word. It has been in use for almost 200 years, and is employed by a large number of people across a wide geographic range and with a consistent meaning. That is why we, and well-nigh every other dictionary of modern English, define this word. Remember that a definition is not an endorsement of a word’s use.”
Irregardless is annoying (IMO) and understandable, for everyday/every day I’m going with is there a difference other than being pedantic if the sentence is clear and understandable?
And thank you for pointing out the difference, I didn’t think it was an everyday mistake nor one I see every day
Having typed this out, how much of the problem is spaces are annoying on a lazy touch keyboard?
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u/OnionsAbound Apr 12 '26
Wait until they find out that words are descriptive, not prescriptive. They're going to have an aneurysm everyday.
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26
People always use this nonsense argument. With that logic mistakes cannot exist.
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u/OnionsAbound Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
It's called . . . Linguistics. it's a whole ass field.
See this link.
All academic research in linguistics is descriptive; like all other scientific disciplines, it aims to describe reality, without the bias of preconceived ideas about how it ought to be.
With that logic mistakes cannot exist.
Also, you're using a slippery slope fallacy. You have to be able to demonstrate the sequence of events that take "words aren't prescriptive," to "mistakes cannot exist."
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26
Doesn't change the fact that everyday and every day are different things. Sorry to disappoint you Hun! 💞
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u/OnionsAbound Apr 12 '26
It actually does . . . Why are you staking your pride on that fact? There are bigger hills to die on...
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u/jimmylovescheese123 Apr 12 '26
I don't care and will never be using this
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u/Ok_Place_4203 Apr 12 '26
That's fine, stupid and uneducated people usually stay that way.
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u/Legal_Tradition_9681 Apr 12 '26
You should know it's how people interpret uses of words and not the technical definition that matters. Unless in cases where ambiguity is an issue.
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u/danque Apr 12 '26
I always see it as 'an everyday item' versus 'an item I use every day'.