TV's Frink said:
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/assure-ensure-insure.aspxThe verbs assure, ensure, and insure all have the general meaning "to make sure," and even though <a href="http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/im-so-stylish.aspx">some argue</a> that they are interchangeable (1,2), many maintain that their usage is dependent on context (3,4,5,6):
Assure is something you do to a person, a group of people, or an animal to remove doubt or anxiety, as in Squiggly assured Aardvark that he'd come to the party early. You can remember that assure can only be used with things that are alive (and both assure and alive start with a). Only things that are alive can feel doubt or anxiety, so only they can be assured.
Ensure is something you do to guarantee an event or condition, as in To ensure there'd be enough food, Aardvark ordered twice as much food as last year. You can remember that guarantee has those two e's on the end to help you remember that to ensure (with an e) is to guarantee something.
Insure can be done to a person, place, or thing, but it's reserved for limiting financial liability, most commonly by obtaining an <a href="http://moneygirl.quickanddirtytips.com/what-insurance-do-I-need.aspx">insurance policy</a>, as in Aardvark wondered if the caterers were insured against loss. You can remember that we take out insurance to protect our income if we become unemployed, disabled, or injured in an accident. Both insure and income begin with -in. Finally, the related verb secure is used when you take possession of a thing or place, as in Aardvark secured a beautiful hall for his party, or when you make something stable or safe, as in Aardvark secured the welcome banner to the wall.
I'll define my own pet peeves, thank you very much.
You know I could be really pretentious about all this. Feign pedantic ambiguity and muddle this whole thing. And well, here I'll do just that for ya.
Assure is something you do to a person, a group of people,
http://grammarcops.wordpress.com/tag/ensure-vs-insure/
assure. verb (used with object), -sured, -sur?ing.
to secure; render safe or stable: to assure a person’s position.
What I was talking about was Mr. Ebert's public perception. I was talking about how the media climate has changed making such status secure for the future. These events and circumstances all involve people. Therefore since the current media climate is still in action then it's more logical to present "assures" as the correction.
"True the current media climate pretty much assures his status for the years to come."
Oh wait, there's more! Here comes even more blurriness to the situation.
Ensure is something you do to guarantee an event or condition,
Roger Ebert's general perception isn't exactly the "goal" of the current media climate. It's a byproduct but it acts as a means of insurance for that perception to remain.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/insurance?s=t
insurance
b. the state of having such protection
Thus my initial usage of "insure" has more reason to be used. Rather than a term used in intended action as your grammar notes point out. "To ensure there'd be enough food, Aardvark ordered twice as much food as last year. " There is a specificity there that isn't meant by my statement. "The media changed in order to ensure Roger Ebert's general perception will be upheld." Doesn't work because we know it's not true. In fact both "assure" and "ensure" in your own assertive quotes denote inherent intent with action by the word "do". The only one talking about past action is "insure" with the word "done". In effect what we're talking about is a person who has passed. So it definitely feels more fitting to use the term with a description in past tense.
Sure the "but it's reserved for limiting financial liability, most commonly by obtaining an insurance policy" part is restrictive to that meaning. But sometimes somewhat archaic meanings simply fit better.
There situation muddled!
