There appears to be no shortage of easy-to-confuse words to describe, and here we are again. English is just a deeply complicated language with hundreds of similar spellings, similar pronunciations, or both. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, even native speakers with years of higher education often get tripped up by their written language. For those who are learning English as a second language, the road is much more difficult. Hopefully, today’s article will give you a bit more confidence when writing and editing your work.
Than vs. Then
These are two common and easy-to-switch words. Fortunately, their correct usages are relatively distinct.
Then means either ‘at that time’ or ‘what happened next’. It is mostly used as an adverb, which is a word that modifies a noun, a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. (If you want to make sure that you never forget how to use adverbs for as long as you live, there’s an old educational song about them that still plays in my head whenever I hear the word ‘adverb’.)
Then is the correct word to use when talking about the past or the order of events.
Back then, I had a motorcycle, but now I don’t (meaning ‘at that time’).
They went to college, then pursued a graduate degree (meaning ‘what happened next’)
Than is typically a conjunction that introduces the second item in a comparison or otherwise indicates a contrast between things. A conjunction is a word that establishes some direct relationship between significant nouns, adjectives, or verbs. (The same company that made the adverb song has one about conjunctions too, though it sadly does not cover than.)
If you are dealing with a comparison between elements and not an event’s placement in time, than is the word you use.
Greater than zero, less than infinity, bigger than this, smaller than that, etc.
These basic rules will pretty much keep your grammar correct, but if you want to get deeper in the weeds, than can also be used as a preposition, which is a word that expresses a relation between elements in a clause. (Naturally, there’s a song.)
Like its use as a conjunction, as a preposition, than can introduce the second element in a comparison. The interesting thing is that it can also mean ‘apart from’ or ‘except’; however, this is exclusively used in the context of the phrase ‘other than’.
Insure vs. Assure vs. Ensure
This is another case of one letter (or two) making a massive difference in meaning but still being close enough in usage to trip you up if you have not been explicitly taught the difference. Luckily, there is not much grammar structure trickery here, just some different definitions. Some people use these interchangeably, but do not be fooled: In a professional setting, you always want to use language as precisely as possible.
Insure means to cover someone or something with an insurance policy.
Example:
Starbucks spends more to insure employees than it does on coffee.
Insure is an easy word to clear from our list of confusing words because, of these three words, it is the furthest from the others in terms of usage and meaning. Remember that insure refers to insurance and nothing else.
Assure means to confidently or positively dispel one’s doubts about something. Alternatively, it means to make sure something happens, but only when used as the adjective assured written with the appropriate ending for the past tense.
Examples:
Test subjects were assured that their results would be anonymized and that their personal information would not be shared (meaning to dispel one’s doubts).
The lead physician himself saw to it that privacy was assured (meaning to make sure it happens)
When in doubt, ask yourself if you are describing an interpersonal situation. If you are, assure is likely the word you are seeking. The same is true when using the noun form assurance. This is the best way to avoid confusion with insurance if you are ever wondering which to use.
Ensure means to make sure something happens or to guarantee it. This one is easy to confuse because it shares some meaning overlap with assure. However, while assured only ever mean ‘something guarantee’ as an adjective, ensure only ever means it as a verb.
Example:
We will ensure the results from the test subjects are not made public.
‘Ensured’ is easier to check for correct usage because it is not used in a noun or adjective form. ‘Ensured’ is the past tense of ensure, but it cannot be used as an adjective like ‘assured’. ‘Ensurance’ is not an English word, and there is no noun form for ensure like insure/insurance and assure/assurance.
Contact me to learn more about using written English properly and not get caught up in common pitfalls.