Some time – When written as two words “some time” means a “period of time” and is typically used to refer to a long period of time.– Tony, a sometime UPS driver, now plays professional poker for a living. “Sometime” can also be used as an adjective meaning “former.” – I will finish my landscaping project sometime.Ģ. As an adverb “sometime” means “at some point”. Sometime – Sometime can be both an adverb and an adjective.ġ.Once again this is an example of the compound word and the two word version being different types of words and having different meanings. – The dog waited patiently for his dinner. One way to check that you are using the word correctly is to replace the word with another adverb. The compound word awhile means “for a time” and is an adverb.– It has been a month since I last drank coffee. – It has been a while since I last drank coffee. If the sentence still makes sense you are using the phrase correctly. One test to ensure that you are using the words correctly is to replace “a while” with another unit of time. A while – This is a noun phrase meaning an amount of time.– Do you have any time to review my test today? When you are referring to an amount of time the two word version is used. – I will gladly help at any time of the day or night.Ģ. When the phrase is used with a preposition like “at” two words should be used. There are a few instances where any time should be two words.ġ.– Any time we had the chance we would go for a swim. – Anytime we had the chance we would go for a swim. “Any time” can also serve as a conjunction.– I am available any time if you’d like me to help with your move. – I am available anytime if you’d like me to help with your move. In almost all cases the two word version and the compound version mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably. Anytime is an adverb which means whenever. A few scholars still consider using the compound version to be lazy writing. A few decades ago, the accepted standard was to always write “any time” as two words. This compound word is an example of how the English language has changed. For example, “each day routine” is not correct whereas “each day I drink a glass of milk” does. As the English language becomes even less formal, you will occasionally hear people use the word as a noun, sort of a shorthand version of “everyday chores.”Įvery day – When written as two words it means “each day”, “every” is an adjective for “day.” One easy way of checking your usage is the replace the work “every” with the word “each” and checking that your sentence still makes sense. The phrase “everyday routine” refers to a normal, ordinary day where nothing unusual occurred. Like many compound words, “ everyday” and “ every day” are typically more confusing in spoken English than in written English since most speakers do not parse the words correctly.Įveryday – This is an adjective which means “mundane”, “typical”, “ordinary”, or “standard”. Here we will look at four of these confusing word pairs everyday vs every day, anytime vs any time, awhile vs a while, sometime vs some time, and someday vs some day. They include homophones, homonyms, compound words, and word pairs which look and sound similar but have entirely different meanings.Ĭompound words which can be one word or two can be especially confusing. English has a number of peculiarities that make the language confusing for those who are just learning the language.
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