Difference between assure and ensure

[Kriss]

Test No. incompl/inter-81 "Save Our Animals (1)", question 3

These people were not at all fuddy duddy (uninteresting) or indeed hoity toity (supercilious) and their main interest in life was to ......... that all animals were well treated.

(a) ensure
(b) assure
(c) convince
(d) convict

Test No. incompl/inter-81 "Save Our Animals (1)", answer 3

These people were not at all fuddy duddy (uninteresting) or indeed hoity toity (supercilious) and their main interest in life was to ensure that all animals were well treated.

Correct answer: (a) ensure

Your answer was: incorrect
These people were not at all fuddy duddy (uninteresting) or indeed hoity toity (supercilious) and their main interest in life was to assure that all animals were well treated.
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when can we use ASSURE? Why can not be used here?

Kriss

[Alan]

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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[kris]

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.

[Rich7]

Keep it up.......
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[Jonnywestbrook]

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.

[Alan]

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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[Pauly]

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.

[Torsten]

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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[Yankee]

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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Amy
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ESL teacher, and native speaker of American English