Insure vs ensure grammar girl book

Some words in the english language are so overused that we dont notice that they are incorrect or dont even exist. Grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing book. Here are six grammar rules that are going out of style. Let me show you quickly whats the difference between ensure vs insure. We ensured the success of the plan after we assured the chairman that the property would be insured. James assures, ensures, insure his dog gets enough exercise by running with her each morning. The book is divided into four sections, each with a different grammar. It is possible to use the spelling of insure, ensure, and assure to distinguish the three words from one another. In my book woe is i, i used this sentence to illustrate the traditional. This might happen because certain words are misused in popular songs, movies, and tvshows, and everyone who listens to this music or watches these films cannot help getting confused occasionally. Aug, 2007 i find it interesting that, during an argument for grammar, your very first sentence contains a rather nasty little comma splice.

Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to use insure and ensure interchangeably. Learn the differences between ensure, assure, and insure in order to correctly choose and use each word. Heres why you still have time to write your first novel. Possessives of nouns ending in s grammar underground. May 22, 2014 the difference between beside and besides english grammar lesson duration. Even the most casual look at assure, ensure, and insure will show that. To ensure is to do or have what is necessary for success. Get grammar girls take on assure versus ensure versus insure. His latest book ensured his success as a novel writer.

Learn the definitions of insure, assure, and ensure, and when to use them. The grammar instruction was a mix of things i already knew its vs. We do enjoy fine distinctions and thats why the blog titled, assure vs ensure vs insure. According to associated press style, to ensure that something happens is to make certain that it does, and to insure is to issue an insurance policy. If your meaning is insurance of a sort against something happening, then you use insure. If a contract stipulates that the individual must insure. A neat trick from grammar girl is to remember guarantee has two es so you use ensure. It means to make certain, to guarantee, or make sure something does or does not happen. Nov 26, 2007 seriously, were glad that you and many of our weekly enewsletter readers and blog writers join us in finding grammar fun. That guardrail is there to ensure no one falls off the cliff.

Some grammar rules are learnt in elementary schools, and yet they still cause a lot of confusion for many english speakers. These words do not have the same meanings, sounds or spellings but their very close spellings and pronunciation is the root cause of all the confusion we have to face. Apr 12, 20 let me show you quickly whats the difference between ensure vs insure. Seriously, were glad that you and many of our weekly enewsletter readers and blog writers join us in finding grammar fun. Theres a large overlap between insure and ensure when it comes to their definitions, and many people find it hard to differentiate the two. The three words, assure, ensure, and insure, are often confused. Apr 03, 2020 also i did buy that grammar girl book a few months back but havent read it yet. In my book woe is i, i used this sentence to illustrate the traditional differences among them.

Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and other. Many scholars maintain there is no such word as irregardless because regardless already means without regard. Aug 19, 2016 the words assure, ensure, and insure are among the common terms that are often misused and interchanged. This may be attributed to how all three words can be associated with the sureness of an outcome. English has a long history of confusion of singular and plural.

However, you can easily avoid confusion by remembering their distinct uses. While these words sound similar theres no situation where they could mean exactly the same thing. The difference between beside and besides english grammar lesson duration. Contents 1 examples 2 video explaining the ensure insure. Whenever someone starts talking or i start reading about adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and. Ensure definition is to make sure, certain, or safe. It always grates on me when i see insure used where ensure. Grammar underground podcast grammar underground with june. Search for the issue, or get the book and keep it close. Three oftenconfused verbsassure, ensure, and insure all mean roughly to make secure or safe or certain. When you get down to it though, there is an easy way of separating the two. Oh, thanks god i found the best descriptions and examples of what is difference between insure and ensure.

I find it interesting that, during an argument for grammar, your very first sentence contains a rather nasty little comma splice. Jan 01, 2008 grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing book. In many areas of life, such cavalier carelessness is a bad idea. Only things that are alive can be assured both alive and assure start with an a. Ensure while insure is fairly easy to remember, assure and ensure seem to confuse a lot of people and are often used incorrectly. The words assure, ensure, and insure are among the common terms that are often misused and interchanged. But, according to mignon fogarty grammar girl, none can be singular as in none of the students was. Ensure means to make sure or to guarantee and insure refers to the financial service of insurance. The airport management took steps to ensure the safety of the passengers. Other authorities, however, consider ensure and insure interchangeable. Insure is the easiest to remember, because it has the same initial letters as insurance. I assure you, said the grieving widow, i ensured he was insured to the hilt. We do enjoy fine distinctions and thats why the blog titled, assure vs ensure vs insure makes distinctions between these words even though the distinctions are not always quite so clearly defined. Other authorities, however, consider ensure and insure.

Also i did buy that grammar girl book a few months back but havent read it yet. Heres what you need to know in the battle of insure vs. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better. Explore the r grammar subreddit on imgur, the best place to discover awesome images and gifs. We have nearly lost the 2nd person singular pronoun. Jan 20, 2015 search for the issue, or get the book and keep it close.

To insure something or someone is to cover it with an insurance policy. Ensure to make sure something will or wont happen example. Woman versus female grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Copy editing, grammar, i vs me, object pronoun thank you for spending the holiday with john and i. The more grammatical form, in this case, would be john and me. Assure vs ensure there is a very clear difference between assure and ensure when it comes to their usage and meaning. Sally stayed up all night drafting a policy to assure, ensure, insure her clients hovercraft. Get grammar girl s take on assure versus ensure versus insure. Grammar girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing.

To assure a person of something is to make him or her confident of it. Some sources note that people use assure, ensure, and insure interchangeably. When to use are vs is with useful examples 7 e s l. Aug 14, 2012 my high school english class taught ensure vs. To ensure my familys safety, i have installed an alarm. All three words are derived from the latin word securus, meaning secure, and they have some similarities in their definitions. If you insure him, then youre taking out a policy on his life.

This may be attributed to how all three words can be associated with the. But in this case, not thinking is actually better than thinking. You hear this a lot from people who are trying to use proper. For this specific lesson the teacher will be focusing on the difference between the homophones ensure and insure. Even though they can be synonyms, one way to make sure of correct usage is to use insure to relate to financial matters and ensure in the broader meaning of making certain or safe. This use of insure applies on both sides of the atlantic. Check the phone book to find a company that can assure, ensure, insure your storage building. Not only do these three words sound similar, they also make an outcome sure but they are in no way.

All three verbs have something to do with making sure and are therefore similar, but each of them has a distinct meaning. May 17, 2016 to assure a person of something is to make him or her confident of it. In this video linda explains the differences between assure, insure and ensure. Assure, ensure and insure are word triplets that are most commonly confused in english language by many writers. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by mignon fogarty. I keep second guessing myself on things like where a space should go when someone is talking and if i have to keep saying he said she said etc.

The blogger grammar girl suggest a mnemonic that may work for some of us. Even though they can be synonyms, one way to make sure of correct usage is to use insure to relate to financial matters and ensure. 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. Aug 26, 2008 get grammar girl s take on assure versus ensure versus insure. The confusion that arises with insure vs ensure stems mainly. Grammar girl is your friendly guide to the english languagewriting, history, rules, and. Today, i want to clear up that confusion and outline the unique characteristics of each of these words. Covering the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers, grammar girl makes complex grammar questions simple with memory tricks to help you recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Aug 26, 2019 english has a long history of confusion of singular and plural. Choose from 171 different sets of grammar mistakes flashcards on quizlet. Insure means to safeguard against loss or damage, typically through the purchase of insurance to do so.

After reading this post, i can assure you will never misuse ensure vs. Jan 14, 2019 ensure, insure, and assure are three of the most commonly confused verbs in the english language. Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes. We cover punctuation, grammar, style, word histories, idioms, and more. Grammar girl quick and dirty tips for better writing listen to. Want to go farther and insure a series is continuous. Jan 16, 2017 in this video linda explains the differences between assure, insure and ensure. Trey has a basketball game tomorrow, and he plays point guard.

Emphasized in all grades, this learning environment asks students to refine their grammar and language. You hear this a lot from people who are trying to use proper english. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing book. I will cover the functions, definitions, and grammar behind each word, so you can understand their differences and use them properly. In her bestselling book on grammar and punctuation, author lynne truss shows how dramatically incorrect usage can change the meaning of a sentence. Possessives of nouns ending in s grammar underground with.

If a that clause follows the verb, you must use ensure. Sally stayed up all night drafting a policy to assure, ensure, insure. Jan 3, 2019 cheat sheets to give you quick tips on grammar, punctuation, and. All three verbs have something to do with making sure and are therefore similar, but each of them has a distinct meaning that makes it better suited for some uses than the other two. It has been used by good writers from before the writing of most of the grammar books that condemn the practice. Ensure vs insure short explanation with simple examples. Ensure means to make certain something happens or doesnt. Assure, ensure, and insure are three words people sometimes confuse. This makes the connection between the two words very clear. While these words sound similar theres no situation where they could mean exactly. Grammar cheat sheet for clean, clear, and compelling writing. This was 30 years ago, in the united states, so its not a matter of being trendy or trying to sound british. Also, insure is typically reserved for financial meanings.

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. We are not insured for people falling off the cliff without a guardrail. Lots of folks use insure, ensure, and assure interchangeably. The question of whether to use insure or ensure or assure has plagued the english language for years. Grammar underground podcast grammar underground with. Learn english with lets talk free english lessons 148,934 views 7. So, lets explore many thesauri list these as synonyms for each other, so that helps to confuse us further 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. It always grates on me when i see insure used where ensure would be a better fit. What you ensure results from your personal efforts. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. This is another of those subtle distinctions, and ill have to do another search of my manuscript for it. So, lets explore many thesauri list these as synonyms for each other, so that helps to confuse us further 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. Most people regularly write stuff like we went to jamess house without stopping to think whether it should be james house.