Grammar Helper: Ensure, Assure, Insure
This is part of the series:
- Grammar Helper
- Grammar Helper: Ensure, Assure, Insure
- Grammar Helper: There, Their, They're
- Grammar Helper: Appraise vs. Apprise
- Grammar Helper: Idea vs. Ideal
- Grammar Helper: Commas in a series
- Grammar Helper: Who and Whom (simple version)
- Grammar Helper: I vs. Me
- Writing Help: Who's vs. Whose
- Writing Helper: Just Thinking to Myself
- Writing Helper: Poor and Pour, Then and Than
- Grammar Helper: Its vs It's
- Writing Helper: Breath vs. Breathe, Bath vs. Bathe
- Cite, sight and site
- Writing Helper: Stationary vs. Stationery
- Writing Helper: Lose vs. Loose
- Avoiding the Passive Voice
- Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right
- Writing Helper: A lot
- Writing Helper: Bath vs Bathe
- Writing Helper: Choose vs Chose
- Writing Helper: Idea vs. Ideal
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!
| 2.5 |
March 27th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
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. : )
March 27th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
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.