Using the wrong version of a compound phrase or word is a very common error. Compounds can be rather confusing, especially for those of you learning English as a second language. It is, however, extremely important to learn the differences between certain compounds, such as "every day" and "everyday" as these common expressions have different meanings.

Learning the differences will help you a great deal with your writing, improving clarity and fluency. So, let's look at the most common and somewhat confusing compounds.

Every day / Everyday

"Every day" is a two-word expression and is an adverb (an adverb modifies a verb or an adjective) and it shows how frequently something is done:

"I travel by bus to work every day."

"It rained every day on my holiday!"

"Everyday" is an adjective that is used to show that something is ordinary or commonplace. This word modifies a noun:

"Hunger in the third world is an everyday problem for millions of people."

"She wore an everyday dress to the christening."

A lot / Alot

"A lot" is a two-word phrase which means very much, a great deal. It's an informal expression, so it is best to not use it in formal pieces of writing.

There is no such word as "a lot", so it should never be used!

Never mind / Nevermind

"Never mind" is a two-word term which means to request that something is disregarded and paid no attention to.

"Never mind the boy on the stairs."

It is a far more common term than "nevermind," which is an old-fashioned noun which means notice or attention and is used in a negative sense:

"Pay no nevermind to the boy on the stairs."

Altogether / All together

"All together" means as a group or something happening at the same time.

"They sang the song all together."

"Altogether" is an adverb which means wholly, entirely, totally and is often used to modify an adjective:

"It's an altogether modern approach to the problem of third world hunger."

All right / Alright

These expressions can be particularly confusing. It's actually best to use "all right" as "alright" is its non-standard version and should not be used in formal pieces of writing.

"Is everything all right at school?"

Make up / Makeup

Usually, the two-word version of compound words is the verb form and the similar version is a noun or adjective.

"Make up" is a two-word verb expression and is the verb form:

"Children make up such wonderful stories."

"Makeup" is both a noun and an adjective:

"She wears makeup to school!" (noun)

"He took a makeup exam at school last week." (adjective)

Back up / Backup

"Please back up your files when using your computer." (verb)

"You need to make backup files of your essays." (adjective)

"Sarah always forgets to make a backup of her essays." (noun)

Pick up / Pickup

"Please pick up your clothes and put them on the chair." (verb)

"Stop flirting with me! Your pickup lines are dreadful!" (adjective)

"He own lots of pickup trucks." (noun)

Set up / Setup

"We have to set up the experiment in the science lab." (verb)

"There are no setup instructions to program the video." (adjective)

"This setup will take hours to do!" (noun)

Wake up / Wakeup

"It was hard to wake up this morning." (verb)

"I need a wake-up call tomorrow please." (adjective - note the hyphen used to connect the two words together)

"She knows now to look after her health. Having the 'flu was a good wakeup."

Work out / Workout

"I should work out every day in order to get fit." (verb)

"When I join the gym, I will buy some new workout clothes." (adjectives)

"The fitness trainer gave me a hard workout." (noun).

KJ Hutchings is the owner of KJ Language Services, providing proofreading, editing and writing services to businesses and students, in particular those who use English as a second language. For more information, visit her site at: http://www.kjlanguageservices.com/