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Tag Archive - sometime vs. some time

I’d Like Some Time, Anytime

June 13, 2014 in Say What? with 1 Comment

Writers often confuse the words anytime and any time. As is the case with anyone and any one, you need to pay attention to what you mean to say. Anytime means “at any time whenever.” But you would use any time when you are talking about the noun time.

The same problems crop up with sometime (adverb or adjective) and some time. As with any time, you would use some time when you are speaking about the noun time. The following are correctly written:

I’d like to go to the beach sometime.
Sometime last night the burglar broke into my house.
He’s a sometime father, only coming over when he feels like it.
I need some time to write.
It will take some time to get over her.
I don’t have any time left in my day.
You could see her anytime you like.

Although you might think the word anymore would follow the same rules, it’s pretty much a toss-up in terms of usage choice. In recent decades it’s become common to use anymore pretty much anytime with anyone. So although it’s more common to write “I can’t eat any more ice cream,” you can write “I can’t eat anymore ice cream.” Although, I’d never write either, because I always find room for ice cream.

Everyday Confusion . . . Every Day

December 13, 2013 in Say What? with 0 Comments

Let’s take a look at some words that can either be one word or broken in two. Since the meanings are usually quite different, it’s important to take a closer look at these everyday words. Like everyday.

This word, for example, is an adjective. If you noticed, I used it in an earlier sentence, and you may recall learning in school (way back when) that adjectives “describe a noun.” So you would use everyday when describing everyday things. It’s an everyday occurrence. These are everyday habits. Now, the word every is also an adjective, so how do you know when you need to break that word apart and use two words: every day?

The key is the word day. Day is a noun, so when you are talking about days and describing them (unless you are calling one “an everyday day”), you want to use two words. For example:

Every day I walk the same street to work.
I’m going every day to the market to get fresh fruit.
I am counting every day until you arrive.

So now, think about the words anyone and any one. The same basic principle applies. Use anyone (pronoun) when you mean any person. Any is an adjective (unless you are using it as an adverb, as in “this doesn’t help any”). So you would write: