Ensure is used to make something certain please ensure that you. Mauricio saved money from every paycheck to assure ensure insure he could buy gifts for his family at the end of the year. Grammar girl s 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. Grammar girl presents the ultimate writing guide for students. Users can view posts by date or topic grammar, punctuation, word choice, style, or general tip or view all entries. 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 mean. I assure you that i have been honest about the money i spent. 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. Some of the desserts was left by the end of the birthday party. The singular subject gurney pairs up with the singular verb is. Grammar girl s expertise is also available in a fulllength book, which is available in paperback and e book.
Assure is also somewhat formal, and, therefore, it doesnt often appear in casual conversations. Its used to show the reader that something is being done, or is happening. Audio podcast files feature indepth but accessible advice on grammatical issues like correctly using the adverb only in sentences. Aug 14, 2012 debunking 10 grammar and novel writing myths brian a. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. If necessary, use the search box on the right side of the page to find a post closely related to your question or comment. A neat trick from grammar girl is to remember guarantee has two es so you use ensure.
Another tip is to remember that the e in ensure refers to an event happening or not happening. To ensure is to do or have what is necessary for success. Sympathetically vs empathetically sympathy and empathy can also appear in adverb form, with the difference in meanings again being the same as those in the noun forms. Heres the grammar test experts claim only those with an. Only people can feel anxious or doubtful only they can be assured. Over 100 targeted practice activities are included.
I will cover the functions, definitions, and grammar behind each word, so you can after reading this post, i can assure you will never misuse ensure vs. Grammar and beyond level 3 teacher support resource book. Insure means to safeguard against loss or damage, typically through the purchase of insurance to do so. Sympathetically is an adverb, meaning in a way that shows sorrow or pity for someones misfortunes.
Grammar girl has a few resources that will finetune your grammar skills quickly and easily while rounding out your personal collection of writing resources. While these words sound similar theres no situation where they could mean exactly the. To reassure the police would require that the police needed emotional comfort and encouragement, which, having the upper hand. Students book, level 1 is the main component of grammar and beyond. Im certain, though, that you sometimes commit a ghastly grammar goof when the subject is far from the verb. If you insure him, then youre taking out a policy on his life. But you definitely need or not when you mean regardless of whether, as in, im out of here whether you like it or not. Mar 19, 2015 your subjectverb agreement is most likely fine when the subject is close to the verb, as it is here. Mignon fogarty is the host of grammar girl and founder of quick and dirty tips. Aug 26, 2008 reader christine wrote in with a request. Grammar and beyond level 1 workbook vrabel, kerry s. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Please ensure that your question or comment relates to the topic of the blog post. Grammar mastery test the blue book of grammar and punctuation.
Using direct words makes a strong, clear statement. In grammar girls quick and dirty tips to clean up your writing, mignon fogarty, the woman behind the popular grammar girl podcast, tackles some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. Jan 01, 2008 to the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday. I assure ensure insure you that i have been honest about the money i spent. All three verbs have something to do with making sure and are therefore. For each of the following, choose the correct sentence. The first and most common way to write them is with lowercase a. Nov 02, 2015 to assure in this context means to promise, which makes sense when one is begging the police on behalf of ones son. In formal writing it is advisable to write for example or for instance instead of e.
The e and the g are each followed by a period, and e. With the trademark wit, warmth, and approachability that the podcasts are known for, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. Ensure while insure is fairly easy to remember, assure and ensure seem to confuse a lot of people and are often used incorrectly. The rolling gurney is about to crash into the unwary sign writer. The three verbs are very much related to each other as all three of them deal with guaranteeing on thing or another. Some of my language peeves are idiosyncratic, i know this. Dont use past and future tense out of context, when making a statement. 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. 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. Debunking 10 grammar and novel writing myths brian a. This inviting book introduces readers anew to the eight parts of speech and common grammatical problems such as the case of pronouns depicted in the books title, the tension between nouns and verbs, the controversy of the active vs. It is short for exempli gratia, a latin phrase meaning for example. In the phrase whether or not, the or not is often optional.
Some sources note that people use assure, ensure, and insure interchangeably. Compare it versus grammar difference between assure vs ensure. Grammar girl is similarly a pseudonym for mignon fogarty, a former magazine and technical writer whos also the sites founder, and she offers writing and usage tips in blog posts, podcasts, and newsletters. The grammar and beyond teacher support resource book with cdrom, level 3, provides suggestions for applying the target grammar to all four major skill areas, helping instructors facilitate dynamic and comprehensive. Simple worksheets provide students with fillintheblank, editing, writing, crosswords, and other types of exercises. Heres the grammar test experts claim only those with an above average iq can ace.
Answer key reducedsize student pages with correct answers overlaid included. The words assure, ensure, and insure are among the common terms that are often misused and interchanged. However, you can easily avoid confusion by remembering their distinct uses. Confusing words and homonyms misused words in english. Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to use insure and ensure interchangeably.
Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by mignon fogarty. Company announcing grammarlys investment in docugami company how our tone has shifted during the pandemic company supporting health, safety, and wellbeing during the covid19 outbreak how to 4 experts on communicating your mental health needs company announcing our free offering for nonprofits and ngos worldwide through 2020 how to 6 tips to help you edit your own writing. And check out our books about the english language. There is a very clear difference between assure and ensure when it comes to their usage and meaning. This book for grades 12 covers alphabetical order, antonyms, synonyms, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and much more. At first glance, the two words may actually be one and the same thing, most especially because they sound almost alike and are also spelled somewhat similarly. Grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing impressed me because its a book that you can read and enjoy. Avenues 3 english grammar book suneeti phadke author lynne gaetz author on. Assure also implies to make something certain to happen. Klems is the editor of this blog, online editor of writer s digest and author of the popular gift book oh boy, youre having a girl. Some of the dessert was left by the end of the birthday party. Table of grammar, style, and usage writing explained.
Mignon fogarty, a former magazine and technical writer who is also quick and dirty tips founder offers writing and usage tips through blog posts, podcasts, and newsletters. Fill in the blanks with vs by english preposition grammar, by and with difference uses examples. To the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday. Jan 16, 2017 assure is used to speak out a promise or say something with confidence i assure you that he is a great lawyer. I would be most grateful if you could tell me the difference between assurance and insurance. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Assure is used to speak out a promise or say something with confidence i assure you that he is a great lawyer. Ensure means to make sure or to guarantee and insure refers to the financial service of insurance.
There are a few generally accepted ways to write these abbreviations in your writing. Assurance is the guarantee that something will happen however insurance is the policy that covers up any losses. 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. Insure makes the distinction that the definition of ensure is to make sure something will or wont happen, whereas insure means to issue an insurance policy. Assure, ensure, insure assurance, insurance betty choy from hong kong writes. Yes, i know there is an assure issue, too, but the insurewhenyoumean ensure is the one that bugs me. Grammar girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing. Based on extensive research, grammar and beyond ensures that students study accurate information about grammar and apply it in their own speech and writing. If a that clause follows the verb, you must use ensure. 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. I find it interesting that, during an argument for grammar, your very first sentence contains a rather nasty little comma splice.
Therefore, ensure the tradition of excellence is a better choice. If a contract stipulates that the individual must insure something the. Help support the grammarphobia blog with your donation. Insure is the easiest to remember, because it has the same initial letters as insurance.
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. Insure verb to provide or obtain insurance for financial protection against loss. The question of whether to use insure or ensure or assure has plagued the english language for years. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that can confound even the best writers.
To insure something or someone is to cover it with an insurance policy. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. Nov 14, 2006 all three verbsassure, ensure, and insure have their roots in a latin word for safe or secure. Also derived from securus are the english words sure, assure, secure, and security. Homonyms are sometimes confusing words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings. Assure better sleep during holiday and business trips with this new scientific discovery. Some of the dessert were left by the end of the birthday party. Difference between assure and ensure difference between. Assure vs ensure the english language can be very confusing if one is learning it as a foreign language. It is possible to use the spelling of insure, ensure, and assure to distinguish the three words from one another.
The following examples have no punctuation, to emphasize grammar. Aug 19, 2016 assure is a verb which means to tell someone something positively or confidently to dispel any doubts they may have or to make something certain to happen. 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. Assure vs ensure there is a very clear difference between assure and ensure when it comes to their usage and meaning. To ensure something is to make sure it happensto guarantee it. All three verbs assure, ensure, and insure have their roots in a latin word for safe or secure. This may be attributed to how all three words can be associated with the sureness of an outcome. It means to make certain, to guarantee, or make sure something does or does not happen. Things like my choice to use the word data as a plural form, and to use datum as the singular, even though the world has decided to treat data as a singular and condemn datum to oblivion. Also, insure is typically reserved for financial meanings. 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. The system is set up to ensure everyone gets a good service.
Some desserts was left by the end of the birthday party. As she does in previous volumesgrammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing 2008 and the grammar devotional 2009fogarty affects an earnest and upbeat tone to dissuade those who think a grammar book has to be annoying, boring, and confusing and takes on the role of grammar guide, intent on demystifying grammar. This way requires periods, and both chicago style and ap style recommend this way of writing the abbreviations. If you want to make something more certain to someone or something, then most likely youll say sentences with the words assure and ensure. Also, to secure the future payment of an amount with insurance. Use assure for things that are alive both contain a. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Klems is the editor of this blog, online editor of writers digest and author of the popular gift book oh boy, youre having a girl. Lots of folks use insure, ensure, and assure interchangeably.
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