Revised as of
24 June 2023
Yep, the anys again! Eeek. This one is even finer tuned than Any One versus Anyone. Keep in mind that any time is an adjective, with any modifying a time, a particular time, as in when the bank is open, when a character has dialog.
Now, the compound word anytime is an adverb, which means it modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, another adverb, or a particular group of words and doesn’t refer to time.
| Consider the following: | |
|---|---|
| Any time George talks about the news he is shut down.
Too vague, time-wise. |
Anytime George talks about the news he is shut down.
“Anytime” is modifying “George talks about the news” which makes this one correct. |
| “For you, anything, any way you want it, any time,” she purred.
Again, this is too vague, and it’s not actually talking about “time”. |
“For you, anything, any way you want it, anytime,” she purred.
“Anytime” is modifying each clause. It could be applied to “for you”, “anything”, and/or “any way you want it”. Nor is it actually talking about “time”. |
| Do you have any time to read this book?
The speaker is specifically asking about “time”, which makes this one correct. |
Do you have anytime to read this book?
If you took the “any” out of this, it still makes sense as “Do you have time to read this book?” Looks to me as if this is talking about “time”, which makes this one incorrect. |
Exploring Later . . .
Other any posts include “Any More versus Anymore“, “Any Way vs Anyway vs Anyways“, and “Any One versus Anyone“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “Any Time versus Anytime” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Any Time | Anytime |
|---|---|
No Parking Sign, New York State is in the public domain and courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. — Parking sign indicates no parking any time. |
Anytime Fitness Gym in Minnetonka, Minnesota, is Markddaly’s own work under the CC-BY-SA-3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective | Adverb |
| Used when speaking about time
Whenever At whatever time [Informal] Very soon |
At any time whatsoever
Without exception or doubt Variant of any time |
| Examples: | |
| I can take you any time you need to go to the bank.
Any time a character has dialog in a book, you should use quotation marks. Any time is not always the right time. She can come any time. We’ll get them back any time. |
I can meet you anytime.
You can call me anytime. We should head out anytime between noon and 2 p.m. The band should arrive anytime now. I can handle a shrimp like him anytime. |
| History of the Word: | |
| The first known use was in 1515. | The first known use was in 1926. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Any Time versus Anytime
Apple Dictionary.com
Burckmyer, Becky. Awesome Grammar. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 2008. Print, 112.
Lakin, C.S. “Everyday Confusion . . . Every Day.” Live Write Thrive. 13 Dec 2013. Web. n.d. <https://bit.ly/3Q1SDFl>.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Open 24 Hrs – Money Change (cropped) by Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom, was uploaded by Oxyman and is in the public domain. There is no-offense intended whatsoever with no intention of impugning this lady’s respectability or intentions, as I am simply using a party-girl image to visually explain this Word Confusion, Way Too Much Excitement Going On (background removed, face obscured, and arm relocated) by Andrew Vargas (Flickr) and is under the CC BY 2.0 license while Bar in Seville, la Macarena (cropped) is Taks’ own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. All three are via Wikimedia Commons.
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