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 #2 (permalink) Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:40 am Ensure/assure |
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Ensure means make sure that something happens - in other words it is followed by a noun clause that .....
Assure on the other hand means convince someone.
We assured them that there was no danger because we had ensured that they were in a safe place.
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Alan
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| #3 (permalink) Mon Jul 11, 2005 3:27 am Thanks! |
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| I was very excited when I saw your reply. I just want to say that I really like this website, I have been working on these tests for few days and I have learned a lot. |
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kris
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| #4 (permalink) Mon Jul 11, 2005 19:02 pm Good |
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| Keep it up....... :lol: |
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Rich7
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| #5 (permalink) Mon May 19, 2008 19:14 pm Difference between assure and ensure |
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Having seen Alan's somewhat misleading comment I thought I would ask him whether the word 'assure' when used in the following context means to 'make sure that something happens' or not.
"Nothing in history assures the success of our civilization" Herbert J. Mulle
You see, Alan (& Kris), the word assure means 'to make something certain to happen' (as any dictionary would tell you), as well as to dispel doubts.
In fact the words assure, insure and ensure all mean to make certain, the only differential as I believe Alan was trying to convey in his rather convinced manner is that assure tends to be used with reference to a person with the sense of 'setting the mind to rest'
I hope this has cleared up any confusion. |
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Jonnywestbrook
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| #6 (permalink) Mon May 19, 2008 22:25 pm Difference between assure and ensure |
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Hi,
Welcome to the site.
I am intrigued to know why you have picked up on a reply I wrote some 3 years ago. We do of course have people who trawl through past comments/explanations in order to show off their talents. I have read through your patronising comments and my earlier explanation and I am quite happy with the sentence I provided: We assured them that there was no danger because we had ensured that they were in a safe place. I don't honestly think there was any confusion in that and so I don't think you have 'cleared up' anything. I gather from your use of language as illustrated with this phrase rather convinced manner that English is not your first language. I look forward to further posts.
Alan
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Alan
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| #7 (permalink) Fri Jun 13, 2008 21:16 pm Difference between assure and ensure |
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Alan, I'd think you should feel it a compliment that someone would quote something you said 3 years ago rather than assume you've been thrashed.
What you have said in your sentence, in a paraphrase, is "We convinced them that there was no danger because we had guaranteed that they were in a safe place." That said, how can the answer to the test question not be "ensure"? This would be EXACTLY opposite of the response you so earnestly support.
Jonnywestbrook's definitions of the words are correct in that they are interchangeable. Unless, of course, you are the editor of a test and determine that there is one, and only one, correct answer to a question. One would presume then that the author is rather pompous himself and must be trying to ensure others of the same. |
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Pauly
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| #8 (permalink) Fri Jun 13, 2008 21:59 pm Difference between assure and ensure |
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Hi Pauly,
Thanks a lot for your contribution. Let's take a look at the difference between assure and ensure again: You can assure somebody that something will happen. If you ensure that something happens, you make certain that it happens.
Hope this helps you understand the difference between assure and ensure. Maybe if you read Alan's explanation again, you will see that the words 'ensure' and 'assure' are not interchangeable. By the way, you are not the only person who tend to confuse these two verbs.
Best regards,
Torsten
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Torsten
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| #9 (permalink) Sat Jun 14, 2008 13:52 pm Difference between assure and ensure |
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Hi Torsten
I agree with you and Alan that 'ensure' would be the best choice for the sentence. That is typical usage.
However, I agree with Johnny and Pauly that 'assure' could be also be used. Though much less common, it would nevertheless be a valid usage.
.
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Yankee
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| #10 (permalink) Wed Apr 20, 2011 23:43 pm Difference between assure and ensure |
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Hi Alan,
Once I read your pompous answer, I had to join your site so I could leave a reply. I found the post helpful, even though it is years old, and I imagine others will find it useful, depsite its age. Just because a post is old, doesn't mean it is not worth reading. This is, afterall, the internet; people stumble upon useful information all the time. This is an interesting topic and has been quite helpful.
Also, Alan, you write, "I gather from your use of language as illustrated with this phrase rather convinced manner that English is not your first language." Shouldn't there be a colon after the word "phrase", and perhaps some commas? I gather from your use of language, as illustrated by this phrase: "rather convinced manner", that English is not your first language. |
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Dasfuryhalper
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| #11 (permalink) Tue Nov 29, 2011 0:16 am Difference between assure and ensure |
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I know it's an old post, but I found this conversation quite interesting. I have one question: Jonny used the quote below to illustrate that assure and ensure can be used interchangeably to mean making certain or guaranteeing that something will happen.
"Nothing in history assures the success of our civilization." - Herbert J. Mulle
However, as I understand it, the "guarantee" definition of assure is a secondary one. On its face, without any context, I read the quote to mean that nothing in history can promise to an implied "us" that our civilization will succeed. I do not read it as saying anything about history securing guaranteed success. We should not be confident about the success of our civilization because we have not been assured.
Regarding the test question, ensure is the obvious answer. It's too much of a stretch to use assure in this way.
There might be instances when assure and ensure can be used interchangeably (I'll rely on the professionals to answer that question - Alan and Torsten seem to think not) but I'm not sure that either of these two examples are any of them. |
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Jbarry524
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| #12 (permalink) Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:10 am Difference between assure and ensure |
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Please activate Javascript in your browser to listen to this audio recording | 13 Listened |
Hi Jbarry524,
I am sure you have a far more exotic name but that's the only one you have given. Thank you for your message and welcome to the forum. I think you share my feeling that 'assure' is most often used with personal objects rather than to mean 'make sure'. As I have been accused of being pompous, I should perhaps be prepared to eat humble pie. I put the word 'assure' in the BNC (British National Corpus) and found examples of 'assure' being used with that sense of 'make sure':
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A7J 432 ‘I'm not complaining,’ Richard hurried to assure him.
AD9 1908 He's safely buried, I assure you.
AN8 760 I can assure you that any busybody would be hard put to it to prove maltreatment!
ANL 2768 ‘I assure you, Mr Tranter, that I have written nothing but the truth,’ Catherine said quietly.
AR3 1392 A murmur which seemed to contain both relief and triumph went around the table, but this time M. Dupont raised his voice slightly and pronounced over it: ‘I am happy to assure you all here that I will bring what modest influence I have to encourage certain changes of emphasis in French policy in accordance with much of what has been said here.
AT8 530 In fact long-term contracts with the utilities, which run to 1995, assure German coal a growing electricity market.
B76 495 Agricultural research organisations in most countries are affected periodically by shortage of money or political instability, and it is difficult to assure the continuity for breeding tree crops such as cocoa.
BMN 2579 ‘I assure you,’ Corbett added hastily, ‘simply one question.’
BNY 1541 The average man may perhaps think it an exaggeration but I do assure you that this is factually so and nights are not now so dark that I cannot be completely aware of what is happening around me before, during and after the nets have been set.
C85 1691 No backyard brawls, I assure you…well-matched, well-controlled prizefights.
CD9 641 The result was that after two years out of racing, Niki asked Ron Dennis to give him a private test — mainly to assure himself that he had not lost his skill and that he could face the new world of FI wing cars, quicker and much more road-adhering than the old generation.
CE1 1729 Often, the counsellor will need to assure them that it is acceptable for them to grieve over their loneliness, their losses and bereavements, and to explore their feelings about life generally.
CG1 1385 This may not seem relevant in the light of Stuart's subsequent death, but let me assure you it is.
CG1 1450 Why they should be so flinching on this score is beyond me, but let me assure Ed that I'm note remotely intolerant of any of them, only surprised and amused that its mention should matter to them so much.
EBT 106 When the current petition for amendment of the trust indenture was made public, Glanton also circulated a letter, dated 24 January 1992, from National Gallery director J. Carter Brown, detailing the gallery's willingness to assist the tour, and endorsing the Barnes trustees' ‘active course to assure the institution's future’.
EC8 246 There is his Author's Note to Victorious Troy to assure us that he has spoken with a boy whose experience had been similar to that of Dick Pomfret and that cases where dismasted sailing ships without officers had been brought to port by boys were not unknown, but we hardly need this assurance in order to believe that Dick, not unaided but with a responsibility beyond his years, did in fact bring the Hurrying Angel home in the end.
EF3 1397 These powers seem wide enough to assure the member States’ control over the activities of the Council.
FU4 484 LADY JONES: Why indeed, report has not been too lavish, I assure you.
G03 884 he started to assure her, ‘I don't have to be paid back…’
G0S 956 But even so, only someone with greater powers, who enjoys intimacy with the loas, can assure the efficaciousness of their prayers.
G1L 1627 ‘If you will accept the hospitality of the Wolfwood, we shall assure you of safety and warmth.’
G1W 1771 ‘Superintendent, I can assure you the sofa you're sitting on is not a casting couch.’
G3H 249 I assure the Hon. Gentleman that we have no intention to cut the necessary construction of new hospitals, such as that to replace East Glamorgan hospital.
H0P 1117 Birth spacing is sometimes used synonymously with birth timing (see intervals), but usually it refers to efforts aiming to achieve the "proper" (healthy, economic or convenient) timing of births either consciously (by planning and controlling the timing of births) or in accordance with traditions (by following customs relevant to breastfeeding and post-partum abstinence which assure the "proper" spacing), and the results of such efforts as they are manifested in the birth intervals.
HA9 378 But I warn you, Mr Jacobsen, you may be under the impression that you have some sort of droit de seigneur over make-up artists but, let me assure you, you're way off the mark.
HDB 182 I can assure you this is not true.
HDM 394 and er that may sound er a bit exaggerated but I can assure you that's what happened, that er, to go to, to be able to file these, these little scraps of paper they had to stick it on another sheet
HGV 1927 ‘Not at all, I assure you.’
HHV 8903 Will the Minister assure the House that there will be no barrier to those who oppose integrated schools serving on the boards of governors of integrated schools?
HHV 9942 Will the Minister assure us that the Government will give the maximum assistance with those weapons as well as with nuclear weapons and that in granting full diplomatic recognition to those republics the acceptance of full international obligations, including the Helsinki process and those features that relate specifically to human rights, will be a priority?
HHV 10959 If my right hon. and learned Friend believes in cause and effect, will he assure the House that he has learnt a lesson from it and that not only investment in but the subsidy to British Rail will be maintained to provide the service that people expect from the railways as we approach the end of the century?
HHV 15150 Will the Minister assure the House that, whatever privatisation plans he has for the trust ports, there will be no recognition of those people who seem to have an interest in cashing in on the endeavours for their own ends?
HHV 20159 Will he assure me that he will look into that matter, because Basildon council is simply trying to bribe its tenants before the election?
HHW 9782 The Secretary of State wrote:’ I can assure you that the action the company has taken has not been forced on it by any of the measures the Government has introduced following the MMC's report on the brewing industry.’
HR0 514 I saw an ancient lady, and a lady of very good quality, I assure you, drawn to church in her coach with six oxen; nor was it done in frolic or humour, but mere necessity, the way being so stiff and deep [with mud], that no horses could go in it.
HTG 2732 ‘Well, I can assure you, sir, it is not my desire to upset anybody.
HTK 222 I can assure you that the Council will not move very far without consulting representatives of all the interested parties, including the institutes of education’.
HWM 791 I can assure you of one thing: that was not upon his person.’
HWU 1371 Once they have gauged US performance against that of other nations, adjustments would be made to assure parity or leadership.
HYF 116 A very modest increase in underlying costs, I assure you.
JNE 87 I can assure everybody that that is not correct.
JSJ 220 I hope that the Noble Earl will be able to assure us that on this issue too there will be Government amendments on report to deal with this important matter.
JXS 1377 ‘Of course I excuse you,’ Shiona was quick to assure her.
JXU 642 I can assure you, there is no danger whatsoever.
JYE 1667 I assure you I'll tell her, but I don't want to humiliate her.’
K3S 28 We can assure the world that the spirit of wartime Liverpool still lives on in the young taxi drivers, news vendors, waiters, waitresses and the police.
K94 641 I can assure you that he is highly delighted with his decision to purchase because the cost savings over the life-time of the machine more than offset the initial cost difference.’
K9N 140 We can also assure you that quality and quantity is excellent — try feeding a Tunnel Tiger anything less!.’
KDM 8213 all it will do is slowly soften and go in, I can assure you, you don't need to inject it
KLH 652 Erm it is I assure you but a fraction of what I've got. |
Alan
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