In a sentence, assure will generally precede the object that you are assuring, as in, the mother assured her daughter that the loud thunderstorm would not hurt her. We need to ensure that we have enough food for the party. When the meaning is to make certain, wd sticks with ensure. Only people can feel anxious or doubtful only they can be assured. In both the us and the uk, assure means to set someones mind at rest, though its sometimes used in the uk to mean underwrite financial loss. I am currently reading grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by mignon fogarty. Relative clausesthe sort of clause you use, which is blue that is blue, which tells us something more about the noun referred to by which or thatare of two sorts. See more ideas about english writing, learn english and english vocabulary.
Mignon fogarty is the creator and host of grammar girl. However, you can easily avoid confusion by remembering their distinct uses. Mar 05, 2007 affect is a verb, as in your ability to communicate clearly will affect your income immensely. With descriptive speech and clear writing you can entertain, persuade, inform and educate. Both assure and ensure mean to make something certain but assure also means to tell someone in a very strong and definite way that something will happen or that something is true. In american english, to assure is purely to intend to give the listener confidence, to ensure is to make certain of, and to insure is to purchase insurance. Mignon fogarty, grammar girl, wrote a nyt bestseller, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing.
Mignon fogarty, whose popular podcasts have been downloaded over twenty million times and whose first book, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing, was a new york times bestseller. If a that clause follows the verb, you must use ensure. On its path from latin through french and into english, securus became simplified and took on a variety of prefixes, thus leading to the confusingly similar english verbs assure, ensure, and insure. Assure, ensure, insure assurance, insurance betty choy from hong kong writes. However, rather than using these words interchangeably, id like to point out the unique aspects of each word so that you can use them to. All three verbsassure, ensure, and insure have their roots in a latin word for safe or secure. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing is an educational podcast produced by mignon fogarty that was launched in july 2006 and the title of a print book by fogarty that was released in july 2008. To ensure is to do or have what is necessary for success.
A verb can express a physical action jump, a mental action guess, or a state of being exist. Sample text for grammar girls quick and dirty tips for. Each entry starts with a simple explanation and basic examples before moving to real. Assure vs ensure the english language can be very confusing if one is learning it as a foreign language. Assure, ensure, and insure have the same underlying meaning, but they each have a slightly different use. Mignon fogartys most popular book is grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing.
Mignon fogarty is the host of grammar girl and founder of quick and dirty tips. This way requires periods, and both chicago style and ap style recommend this way of writing the abbreviations. Generally speaking, you ensure that something will happen, and you insure something when you guarantee it against some kind of loss or harm however, as usual, its not that simple. Assure is something that you tell to another person, something that can feel doubt or uncertainty. Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. Whoever is a subject pronoun and works like the pronouns he, she, and they whoever wrote this poem should win a prize. Get grammar girls take on assure versus ensure versus insure. Im weighing the pros and cons of the whiteandgold dress versus the blueandblack dress. Klems is the editor of this blog, online editor of writers digest and author of the popular gift bookoh boy, youre having a girl. You assure a person that things will go right by making him confident. You can also find guidance and ideas on academic writing, composition, style, editing, etc. When you get down to it though, there is an easy way of separating the two. The three verbs are very much related to each other as all three of them deal with guaranteeing on thing or another. Each of these words has some meanings which are peculiar to it, some which are not entirely discrete from the others, and some which overlap almost entirely.
Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing impressed me because its a book that you can read and enjoy. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. Passed past tense and past participial form of the verb to pass. Therefore, ensure the tradition of excellence is a better choice.
By thinking in terms of the effect, you can usually sort out which is which, because you cant stick a the in. This term has come to mean protecting something in a monetary sense, against damage or theft. Learn the definitions of insure, assure, and ensure, and when to use them. As of january 2020, english now includes more than one million wordsa figure that differs from words accepted in dictionaries, which can range from 170,000 to 470,000 depending on the source. For example, some people might say we hired a caterer to insure an excellent meal, but ensure is the more common usage.
Assure refers to the act of removing insecurities by guaranteeing that something will happen. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing book. This may be attributed to how all three words can be associated with the sureness of an outcome. Only things that are alive can be assured both alive and assure start with an a. Senator warren doesnt need to change her ideas and wellplanned programs.
You can have a poor command of english, yet grammarly effortlessly helps you create beautifully written pieces. Whether english is your first language or second language, grammar girl s punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Some sources note that people use assure, ensure, and insure interchangeably. The rules are broken down into different categories that make the site truly userfriendly. Assist the child in setting up a homework center, call the school to get homework when it is forgotten, and assure homework is completed correctly. Homonyms are sometimes confusing words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings. Theres a large overlap between insure and ensure when it comes to their definitions, and many people find it hard to differentiate the two. Infinitives are formed when a verb is preceded by the word to, as in to run or to ask.
Many scholars maintain there is no such word as irregardless because regardless already means without regard. Both types of shakes provide adequate nutrition to support normal body growth, development and maintenance. Jan 01, 2008 to the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday. The noun of assure is assurance and the adjective of assure is assured. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. It looks to me like most people lean toward american grammar, and i have to admit im a little biased toward it myselfi have noticed that and which used interchangeably in print publications particularly in a novel im reading right now, which inspired this post, and i always wonder if the writer or editor might be british.
This page is a grammar lesson on verbs, the type of verbs, and verb terminology. The grammar girl podcast has also won best education podcast multiple times in the podcast awards, and mignon is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame. Compare it versus grammar difference between assure vs ensure. I found this tip on grammar girls website in a post called assure versus ensure versus insure. What is the difference between anyplace and any place. Grammar girls expertise is also available in a fulllength book, which is available in paperback and e book. In general, to assure is to lend confidence, to ensure is to confirm, and to insure is to indemnify as with an insurance policy and insure may have legal implications. There are many words that sound the same or even look the same, but these words are used in entirely different contexts as they have entirely different meanings. Help support the grammarphobia blog with your donation. To the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday. The journalist nelly bly said, the more i endeavored to assure them of my sanity, the more they doubted it. These blankets ensure that youll be warm enough to insure is to cover with an insurance policy what you insure you entrust to a business. The version on the right with the red stripe on top is used when the country is at war.
In american english, insure is occasionally used instead of ensure. Even better, the american heritage dictionarys definition of ensure is. Also derived from securus are the english words sure, assure, secure, and security. The words assure, ensure, and insure are among the common terms that are often misused and interchanged. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. But elizabeth warrens recent fall in poll numbers and weak results in primaries are directly tied to the message she is communicating. Assure versus ensure versus insure english words, latin words. It is possible to use the spelling of insure, ensure, and assure to distinguish the three words from one another. I will outline the correct word and explain how it should be used in the proper context. Grammarly helps every writer of every skill level to write better.
Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes. Even though my show is called grammar girl, the secret is that its not usually grammar that confounds peopleits usage. However, these terms should not be used interchangeably. By day she is immortal, by night when her tattoos peel from her skin and become her boys she becomes mortal. However, thats not to say that all grammar rules are written in stone. Nov 26, 2007 the three words, assure, ensure, and insure, are often confused.
While inquire is also often used in the same sense as enquire in british english, it doesnt usually go the other way around enquire is rarely used for an official investigation or query. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. The short answer is insure is limited to the financial product we buy to limit our liability. The nationals have inquired with the blue jays about outfielder jose bautistas availability, according to the post. The grammarly handbook is a virtual grammar handbook that describes various grammatical rules and offers examples of correct and incorrect use. I get complaints from purists, but usage girl doesnt have the same ring to it as grammar girl, and my books and podcasts arent for purists anywaytheyre for people who actually need help.
All three words share an element of making an outcome sure. Five grammatical errors that make you look dumb copyblogger. Buy our book smashing grammar 2019 written by the founder of grammar monster, smashing grammar includes a glossary of grammar essentials from apostrophes to zeugma and a chapter on easily confused words from affecteffect to whetherif. Apr, 2009 grammar rules exist so that we dont sound like complete idiots when we write. Passed and past is a very commonly confused pair, but once you know the difference between passed and past, you wont make that mistake again. Whomever is an object pronoun and works like the pronouns him, her, and them give the document to whomever in the department. Books by mignon fogarty author of grammar girls quick. Grammar girl presents the ultimate writing guide for. Ensure, insure, and assure are three of the most commonly confused verbs in the english language. Insure is the easiest to remember, because it has the same initial letters as insurance. The only difference with british english is that assure can be used instead of insure, particularly in the context of life insurance or assurance. The shakes are often recommended for people who are malnourished, at nutritional risk. Ensure is to make certain that something will happen.
Mignon fogarty has 14 books on goodreads with 12479 ratings. The first and most common way to write them is with lowercase a. Maybe its because of its diminutive size, but the apostrophe tends to be neglected and misused in equal measure. Oct 06, 2016 further versus farther the quick and dirty tip is to use farther for physical distance and further for metaphorical, or figurative, distance. Aug, 2007 as the american heritage book of english usage explains, although ensure and insure are generally interchangeable, only insure is now widely used in american english in the commercial sense of to guarantee persons or property against risk. All three words are derived from the latin word securus, meaning secure, and they have some similarities in their definitions. I would be most grateful if you could tell me the difference between assurance and insurance. The act of assuring is the act of dispelling doubts.
Assure is used to speak out a promise or say something with confidence i assure you that he is a great lawyer. However, rather than using these words interchangeably, id like to point out the unique aspects of each word so that you can use them to communicate your intention clearly. Mignon is the author of the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing and six other books on writing. Learn the rules, and the quirks, of english grammar from parts of speech to punctuation. One of the earliestknown english dictionaries, the elementarie 1582, contained 8,000 words. There are many homophones in english that are easily confused, especially in writing.
All three of these words are used in specific instances, so its important to keep track of insure vs. While ensure and insure arent quite so clear cut, assure is very different from both. In accordance with definition of in accordance with by. Effect is a noun, as in the effect of a parents low income on a childs future is well documented. The word assure is used as a verb, and it is used in the sense of promise or tell someone something positively to dispel any doubts. Confusing words and homonyms misused words in english.
Providing a space to do homework and monitor homework, write a note to the teacher if confused about homework, and provide consequences if homework is not completed. We ensured the success of the plan after we assured the chairman that the property would be insured. There are some newspapers and magazines, such as the new york times and the new yorker, that still use insure in both instances, but its fairly archaic to do so. Its my job to ensure that you dont misuse terms like these.
Traditionally, enquire simply meant ask, while inquire was used for formal investigations. Its easy to remember because farther has the word far in it, and far obviously relates to physical distance. See more ideas about grammar, learn english and english grammar. What you ensure results from your personal efforts. Assurance is the guarantee that something will happen however insurance is the policy that covers up any losses. Historically, the words insure and ensure have been used interchangeably, and you can throw assure into that crazy mix as well. There are a few generally accepted ways to write these abbreviations in. Any grammar check that does an english syntax check is a winner. Oct 21, 20 assure is a transitive verb, so it requires an objectand a personal object, at that. To insure something or someone is to cover it with an insurance policy. They are her friends, her family, and the only demons she loves. As an editor, mrp will continue to differentiate between ensure and insure as i. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing.
So many people refer to themselves as i in the reflexive. New york times bestselling author mignon fogarty shares her weekly grammar girl podcast and video tips about english, grammar, and writing. Ensure refers to the act of making something certain. The question really ought to be whether to say clearer or more clearly. Mignon fogarty is the founder of the quick and dirty tips network and creator of grammar girl, which has been named one of writers digests 101 best websites for writers multiple times.
A subreddit for questions and discussions about grammar, language, style, conventions, and punctuation. On the other hand, the word ensure is also used as a verb, and it is used in the sense of make sure. When you want to say that something makes something else certain, use either assure or ensure leaving early will assureensure a prompt arrival. To ensure something is to make sure it happensto guarantee it. There are a few generally accepted ways to write these abbreviations in your writing. A while usually follows the preposition for or in, whereas if you cannot put for a while into a sentence, you need to use a while.
Assurei mean, ensuregood writing by mark nichol once upon a time, professional and amateur writers alike could count on books and publications to help guide them in. These two abbreviations stand for the latin terms ante meridiem and post meridiem, which literally mean before noon and after noon. A person who does tidying jobs for thomas more might be a more clearer. Assure is also somewhat formal, and, therefore, it doesnt often appear in casual conversations. Grammar girl presents the ultimate writing guide for students is a complete and comprehensive guide to all things grammar from grammar girl, a. Ensure and ensure plus are often used in diets to gain or maintain a healthy weight. In accordance with definition is in a way that agrees with or follows something, such as a rule or request. In the uk, the two words are used interchangeably, although inquire is still the more commonly used word for formal or official investigations in the united states, inquire is the strongly preferred spelling in all uses. Never use assure in the sense of assure that the wording is correct. Find the answers to our grammar, vocabulary and spelling activities on the blog in this english activities answer key. A while is a noun phrase consisting of a and while, whereas awhile is an adverb meaning for a while.
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