Ensure / Assure / Insure
Use “insure” when you mean to buy insurance. As in “I need to insure my new car.”
Use “ensure” when you want to convey the idea of making sure. For example, “I left early to ensure I’d have enough time to make it through traffic.”
Finally, use “assure” when you’re referring to convincing a person, or making someone feel better about something. “I assured my mother that I’d study for my finals.”
Hope you find that useful!
I used to teach English, and my students appreciated this type of tip the most. I think it ended up being more handy for them than examining objective case or indirect objects! I’m glad you liked it, and I’ve been enjoying your blog too. It’s not nonsense at all; it’s a very good read.
This post just warms my heart. More people should post about grammar and word usage. Though I have already been enjoying exploring around your blog, I am enamored with you based on this post alone. How did the Secret Pal 10 organizers know?? I have been contemplating a post examining “already” versus “all ready”. Of course, I mostly talking about knitting and nonsense on my blog so people might not know what to do with a word usage post there. : )