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Dominik Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

Be sure vs be certain

Be sure / certain to give him plenty of water and make sure / certain he avoids any physical effort.Which is correct? Have I choosen correctly?Thanks!
  

Top answer

I would have chosen opposite to what you chose; however, I am American, and we don't use the word certain in America as much as they do in the UK. I'd say, though, that all of the following are possible: be sure, make sure, make certain. e.

— Elanguest

  • I would have chosen opposite to what you chose; however, I am American, and we don't use the word certain in America as much as they do in the UK.
  • I'd say, though, that all of the following are possible: be sure, make sure, make certain.
  • e.
  • as an imperative.
  • Any British English speakers have an opinion?
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5 Answers
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I would have chosen opposite to what you chose; however, I am American, and we don't use the word certain in America as much as they do in the UK. I'd say, though, that all of the following are possible: be sure, make sure, make certain. Be certain could be possible in some contexts, for example "I am certain that I can accomplish it," but maybe not in the above sentence, i.e.
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This speaker of BrE would almost certainly use sure for the first. I think I'd plump for sure in the second, too.
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DominikWhich is correct?
There is no "correct"; they both mean the same thing. Choose as you wish. It's just that 'certain' is a word with a little more class.
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A very interesting question.
I have to agree with fivejedjon. As a native speaker without giving any thought to my language usage I would use 'sure' in both cases. I would use 'sure' in both writing and speaking.
However both sure and certain are correct.
So
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I'd agree with FiveJedJon, and also with CJ: sure is more common, but perhaps certainis a bit more classy. Emotion: wink
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