Two When One Will Do

When I was a kid, a television commercial promoted prunes for regularity, one that made me giggle uncontrollably. The snort laughter really exploded when the voiceover sincerely said, “Prunes. Is one enough? Are two too many?”

I often want to apply these prune questions to writers’ use of one word when two are needed and vice versa. While authors’ body regularity is not a topic I wish to address—ever—the questions do have crossover value! So, here’s a look at compound words and two-word phrases confused regularly. I mean with regularity.

Any more/Anymore

“Any more” is a determiner phrase that refers to indefinite quantities of something. Any is an adjective and more is a noun.

EXAMPLES:

·      Is there any more of that delicious chocolate cake, John?

·      I don’t want to have any more to do with John if he keeps force feeding me cake.

The compound word “anymore” is an adverb that generally means “no longer” or “in the past but not nowadays.”

EXAMPLES:

·      John doesn’t come around here with cake anymore.

·      John’s baking series has been canceled and will not run anymore.

HINT: In most cases, if you can eliminate “any” and just use the word “more” in the sentence, then the phrase any more is appropriate. If it has to do with time, use “anymore.”

Any one/Anyone

Are you dealing with a singular choice among many? If so, the adjective + noun “any one” refers to choosing one among many items.

EXAMPLES:

·      Choose any one of the cupcakes before you drool on them!

·      Did the witness recognize any one of the men in the cupcake thief line-up?

The pronoun “anyone” means any person in general, being a synonym for “anybody.”

EXAMPLES:

·      The cupcakes are for anyone who would be at the party.

·      Clara knew she could not bring just anyone to Grampa’s 96th birthday!

HINT: Any one is almost always followed by “of.”

A part/Apart

“A part” means one piece, usually small, of some larger whole. It can also mean a role in a performance piece, which is a portion of the larger whole.

EXAMPLES:

·      Feel free to take a part of the cookie cake.

·      When auditioning, ask to read a part that matches your personality.

The adverb “apart” is the correct choice when focusing on distance or separation.

EXAMPLES:

·      Keep those two actors apart as they have bad chemistry between them.

·      The actors spent time apart to make the surprise party scene more realistic for their characters.

HINT: If you can substitute “a piece” or “a role” for your intention, then use a part.  

Every day/Everyday

In “every day,” every is a count adjective, and day is a noun. A count adjective informs how many of something. In this case, it means each.

EXAMPLES:

·      I wish we could eat lobster every day .

·      I check the fish store’s lobster prices every day.

The compound word “everyday” is an adjective that means normal or ordinary.

EXAMPLES:

·      Lobster was an everyday meal for fishermen; now it is a high-end delight at fancy restaurants.

·      Those are my everyday shoes, and these are for fancy lobster dinners.

HINT: If you can stick the work “single” between every and day, then use two words. If not, chances are you need the one-word adjective version.

Every one/ Everyone

The two-word phrase “every one” is the combination of the adjective every and the noun one. Every is a count adjective, informing how many. In this case, every means each.

EXAMPLES:

·      Pick up every one of your toys.

·      I want to take home every one of those puppies.

The compound word “everyone” is a pronoun, and an indefinite one at that. Indefinite means that it does not give a specific number; rather, it refers to all humanity, everybody, or the present group of people.

EXAMPLES

·      Central Park in New York City is open to everyone, even in the rain.

·      Attention! Everyone in Central Park needs to take cover from the storm!

HINT: If you can stick the work “single” between every and one, then use the two-word version. If not, chances are you need the one-word pronoun version.

No one/Nobody/Noone

“No one” and “nobody” are interchangeable pronouns that mean “not anybody.”

EXAMPLES:

·      Nobody went swimming that summer the pond was flooded with bacteria.

·      No one should go in the pond until it has been tested for bacteria.

Nobody should use “noone” as it is an outdated spelling; it’s SO 19th century.

Eradicate it.

Get it out of your system.

Consider prunes.