Anywhere, Anytime: Commonly Confused Adverbs

Anywhere and anytime are adverbs, just like awhile, somewhere, and altogether. Some of these adverbs can be written as two words—any time, a while, all together. But adding that space might change the way the words are used, and some of them—like anywhere or somewhere—can’t be separated at all.

It’s common for people to struggle with adverbs or mix them up with adjectives. Some situations are conducive to those kinds of mistakes because it’s not easy to figure out which word is being modified. However, compound words used as adverbs bring in a whole new level of confusion to the mix. Take anytime as an example—do you write as one word? Or do you spell it as two words: any time? Is there a difference between the two? Does it stop being an adverb if you separate it?

What Are Adverbs?

Let’s just take a moment and brush up on our knowledge of adverbs. Adverbs are modifiers, words that modify the meaning of other words—verbs, other adverbs, and adjectives. They can’t modify nouns—that’s what adjectives are for. Adverbs can be regular words, compound words, and sometimes even whole phrases.

How to Use Anytime

Anytime is a relatively new addition to the English language. As a single word, it has the meaning of “at any time,” and you can use it instead of that adverbial phrase. Just keep in mind that you can’t say “at anytime.”

Formality and Compound Adverbs

The adverb anytime is sometimes considered to be informal. If you’re really worried about how it might look in a business letter you’re writing, you stick to any time. Somewhere and anywhere don’t have two-word versions and are not considered informal. Someplace is rather casual, however, so you might consider changing it into some place in formal writing.

Examples

You have the ability to engage in the practice anytime, anywhere.
—The Huffington Post

Pokemon Go is not going to be released officially in the UK any time soon.
—BBC

Every time I go someplace, someone has a story about how Michael is a part of their lives.
—People

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