WARRANTY vs. GUARANTEE

Good morning / afternoon /evening everyone, depending on when you are reading this. Welcome back to the Daily Vitamin. 

Today we are going to look at 2 words that are very similar, but have some important differences, which often cause confusion: warranty and guarantee.

In the first place, remember that warranty can only be a noun, but guarantee can be a noun or a verb.

Warranty (noun) means: a company's written promise to replace or repair a product you buy from them if it breaks or does not work. A warranty usually has a limited period of time.

Guarantee (noun) means: (1) something that makes certain something will happen; (2) an agreement that if something you buy does not work it will be repaired or replaced, or you can have your money back.

Guarantee (verb) means: to make sure that something will happen.

Notice that meaning (2) of guarantee is the same as the meaning of warranty. However, the meaning of the verb (1) is more generic and doesn't necessarily refer to products and companies. Consider the examples below.

Example 1: The other day I bought the cheapest DVD player in the shop. It had the same two-year warranty as the expensive ones.

Example 2: The other day I bought the cheapest DVD player in the shop. It had the same two-year guarantee as the expensive ones.

Example 3: Saving 300€ each month will guarantee that you have plenty of money when you retire.

As always, if you would like some extra practice with these words, I encourage you to create your own original sentences with one or both of them. You can post your sentences on one of our social media sites (Facebook or Twitter) and we will give you feedback as soon as possible.

Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll see you back here tomorrow with our last lesson of the week. 

All the best!