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# sure

«sure» in Mova's school dictionary: **true and have no doubt** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (sure, surer, surest); adverb (sure — yes, of course)

### meaning for a pupil

1) If you are sure, you know something is true and have no doubt. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#m1)

2) «Make sure» means check or take care that something happens. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#m2)

3) «Sure» in speech means yes, of course. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#m3)

4) A sure thing is something certain to happen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#m4)

5) Sure-footed means steady on your feet, not likely to slip or fall. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In school maths: a word of the story; in chance problems «sure» or «certain» means it will always happen; «to be sure of getting two of the same colour» means think of the worst case. In everyday life: «Are you sure?», «Make sure you lock the door», «Sure, you can borrow it». Phrases: «make sure», «for sure», «be sure to», «I'm not sure».

### examples

- Is it sure that she picks a red ball? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#x1)
- He wants to be sure he has enough money. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#x2)
- Make sure you count both ends. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#x3)
- How many must you take to be sure of getting two of the same colour? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#x4)
- Are you sure you turned off the oven? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#x5)
- «Can I sit here?» «Sure!» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#x6)
- I'm not sure what the answer is. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#x7)
- Make sure you wear sunscreen at the beach. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#x8)
- They have therefore become very sure-footed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/#x9)

### note

«Sure of» something, «sure that» something is true, «sure to» do something. «Surely» is used in questions when you expect «yes». Maths: carries no number. In «to be sure of» problems think of the worst case. Trap: «sure» there means always, not just likely.

### In the corpora

- [Later he can't stop thinking about it, and he isn't sure if he's in trouble.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/58-landing-on-an-18-film-by-accident/5/)
- [When a bot is asked "are you sure?", it sometimes gives up a correct answer.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/5-hallucinations-confident-made-up-answers/16/)
- [A good answer comes with reasons, so ask "why?" rather than only "are you sure?".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/5-hallucinations-confident-made-up-answers/17/)
- [Schools are making rules about AI, like rules about calculators: read them, and when you are not sure, ask.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/9-the-essay-the-teacher-spotted/7/)
- [The lawyers trusted the chatbot because it sounded so sure, and sounding sure is not proof.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/20-news-court-cases-airline/3/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «sure» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sure/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.