# 1057 - Stop Mixing Up Check, Confirm, and Make Sure

An episode of [Happy English Podcast (Natural American English)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/884643408), 25 May 2026, 7:43.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72151101/1057_stop_mixing_up_check_confirm_and_make_sure.mp3

Can you check the schedule? I just want to confirm our reservation. Make sure you bring your passport. Check, confirm, and make sure. These words seem pretty similar, right? They all involve checking information somehow. But sometimes it's easy to mix them up. Can you say, “Please confirm the weather?” Or, “I checked that my friend came to the party”? Or maybe, “Make sure the reservation”? Hmm… something sounds a little strange there. So today, we’re going to look at how you can actually use check, confirm, and make sure in everyday English. The Happy English Podcast Helping people speak English better since 2014 Over 1,000 episodes • 8 million downloads 📘 Get free weekly English lessons plus instant access to my FREE Vocabulary Workshop.: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/free-english-lessons 🎥 Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts 🌐 Learn more about my English lessons and courses https://www.myhappyenglish.com

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Can you check the schedule? I just want to confirm
[0:03] Speaker 1: our reservation, make sure you bring your passport, check, confirm,
[0:09] Speaker 1: make sure. These words seem pretty similar, right, They all
[0:13] Speaker 1: involve checking information somehow, but sometimes it's easy to mix
[0:19] Speaker 1: them up. Can you say, please confirm the weather, or
[0:24] Speaker 1: I checked that my friend came to the party, or
[0:28] Speaker 1: maybe make sure the reservation. Something sounds a little strange there.
[0:34] Speaker 1: So today we're going to look at how you can
[0:37] Speaker 1: actually use check, confirm, and make sure in every day English.
[0:47] Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast coming to you from
[0:51] Speaker 2: New York City, and here's your English teacher, Michael.
[0:56] Speaker 1: All right, thank you John In. Thanks everyone. It's Michael
[1:01] Speaker 1: here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
[1:05] Speaker 1: And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode one thousand and
[1:10] Speaker 1: fifty seven. Stop mixing up, check, confirm, and make sure.
[1:18] Speaker 1: And by the way, if you're enjoying learning English with me,
[1:21] Speaker 1: make sure to follow or subscribe so you don't miss
[1:26] Speaker 1: new episodes. Let's start with check. We use check when
[1:32] Speaker 1: we look at information to see if something is correct
[1:36] Speaker 1: or to get information. For example, imagine you're meeting a
[1:42] Speaker 1: friend for dinner, but you forgot the time. You might say,
[1:46] Speaker 1: hang on, let me check my calendar, or maybe someone
[1:51] Speaker 1: asks when the train leaves and you say, let me
[1:54] Speaker 1: check the schedule. Here are some other examples. I check
[1:59] Speaker 1: the weather before leaving the house, or can you check
[2:03] Speaker 1: your email? Or maybe before a trip you say I
[2:07] Speaker 1: need to check my flight information. The idea is check
[2:13] Speaker 1: means look at information. Now let's look at confirm. This
[2:19] Speaker 1: word is a little stronger. We use confirm when we
[2:24] Speaker 1: officially verify information or make sure that something is definite.
[2:31] Speaker 1: For example, imagine you booked a hotel online before your trip.
[2:37] Speaker 1: You might call and say I'm calling to confirm my reservation.
[2:42] Speaker 1: That means you want to be sure the booking is
[2:46] Speaker 1: officially correct. Or maybe your coworker sends you a message,
[2:51] Speaker 1: Can you confirm tomorrow's meeting? That means please tell me
[2:57] Speaker 1: officially that the meeting is happening. Here are some more examples.
[3:02] Speaker 1: Please confirm your attendance, or the airline confirmed my booking,
[3:08] Speaker 1: Or maybe after texting a friend you say, just confirming
[3:12] Speaker 1: we're meeting at six o'clock right, So confirm often has
[3:18] Speaker 1: a more official feeling. You'll hear confirm a lot with reservations, appointments, meetings,
[3:27] Speaker 1: schedules and business situations. Next, let's look at make sure.
[3:34] Speaker 1: This one is very common in daily conversation. We use
[3:38] Speaker 1: make sure where we want to verify something or take
[3:43] Speaker 1: action so something happens correctly. For example, imagine your friend
[3:49] Speaker 1: is leaving for the airport, you might say, make sure
[3:53] Speaker 1: you bring your passport. That means don't forget, check to
[3:58] Speaker 1: be sure you have it. Or maybe when your kid
[4:02] Speaker 1: leaves for school, you can say, make sure you lock
[4:06] Speaker 1: the door. Again you want something to happen correctly. You
[4:12] Speaker 1: can also use make sure like this make sure you
[4:16] Speaker 1: save that file, or can you make sure the restaurant
[4:21] Speaker 1: is still open? Or maybe before bed you say, I
[4:25] Speaker 1: always make sure the windows are locked. So the key
[4:29] Speaker 1: idea here is make sure is often about responsibility or
[4:35] Speaker 1: preventing problems. Now let's compare these words, because this is
[4:41] Speaker 1: where things might get confusing. Imagine you're traveling. First you
[4:46] Speaker 1: check your flight time, then you confirm your hotel reservation,
[4:52] Speaker 1: and before leaving the house, you make sure you packed
[4:56] Speaker 1: your passport. See the difference. You check information, you confirm
[5:02] Speaker 1: official details, and you make sure something happens correctly. Here's
[5:09] Speaker 1: another comparison. Let me check the address that means I'm
[5:13] Speaker 1: looking at information, let me confirm the address. That sounds
[5:18] Speaker 1: more like I want to verify that this is definitely correct,
[5:23] Speaker 1: and then make sure you write down the address. Now
[5:27] Speaker 1: we're talking about responsibility or taking action. And by the way,
[5:34] Speaker 1: make sure is very common in everyday conversation when we
[5:39] Speaker 1: remind people about something important, for example, just make sure
[5:45] Speaker 1: you're there on time, or make sure to call me
[5:49] Speaker 1: when you arrive. You'll hear people use make sure all
[5:53] Speaker 1: the time when they want to avoid problems or remind
[5:58] Speaker 1: someone to do something. So here's the key idea. Check
[6:02] Speaker 1: means look at information, confirm means officially verify information. And
[6:10] Speaker 1: make sure means take action or verify something so it
[6:16] Speaker 1: happens correctly. Once you start noticing these small differences, choosing
[6:23] Speaker 1: the right word becomes much easier. So here's your challenge.
[6:28] Speaker 1: Think about your schedule this week. What do you need
[6:31] Speaker 1: to check, What appointments or reservations do you need to confirm?
[6:36] Speaker 1: And what do you need to make sure you don't
[6:40] Speaker 1: forget to do. That's how you can start making these
[6:44] Speaker 1: words part of your natural English and remember the best
[6:50] Speaker 1: way to remember English, like this and any other word
[6:53] Speaker 1: or phrase is to take that word or phrase, write
[6:56] Speaker 1: it in a sentence that's true for you or true
[7:01] Speaker 1: in your world, and then memorize your sentences. A thanks
[7:05] Speaker 1: for listening, and remember learning another language is not easy,
[7:09] Speaker 1: but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you
[7:13] Speaker 1: on your journey.
[7:16] Speaker 2: This podcast was brought to you by Happy English Leads.
[7:20] Speaker 2: Visit Myhappy English dot com. Show your support for Happy
[7:24] Speaker 2: English by leaving us a review. Get English, Get happy,
[7:28] Speaker 2: Happy English

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.