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Questions & Answers about Me aseguro de cerrar la ventana cuando llueve.
Why is there me before aseguro in me aseguro?
Because asegurarse is a pronominal (reflexive) verb meaning “to make sure.” Every time you use asegurarse, you need the matching reflexive pronoun. Here the subject is “yo,” so you say me aseguro. Without me, aseguro simply means “I insure” or “I guarantee” something (like a car or a policy), not “I make sure.”
Why is there a de after aseguro?
The structure for “making sure to do something” is asegurarse de + infinitive. You can also say asegurarse de + noun (“make sure of something”). If you drop the de, it’s ungrammatical.
What’s the difference between asegurar and asegurarse?
• asegurar (without reflexive) means “to assure someone,” “to insure” (e.g. a house, a life).
• asegurarse (with reflexive) means “to make sure,” “to ensure (that you do something or that something is true).”
They look similar but have different uses.
Why is cerrar in the infinitive and not conjugated?
After asegurarse de, you express the action you want to guarantee with an infinitive: de cerrar means “to close.” You cannot follow aseguro de with a conjugated verb (e.g. de cierro is wrong).
Why is la ventana used with the definite article instead of mi ventana or no article?
Spanish uses el/la before nouns when it’s clear which object you mean. Here it’s obvious you’re talking about “the window (in the room),” so you say la ventana. English sometimes drops the article (“I close windows”), but Spanish usually keeps it.
Can I attach the object pronoun la and say me aseguro de cerrarla?
Yes. Me aseguro de cerrarla cuando llueve is perfectly correct. You must attach la to the infinitive (not to aseguro). So:
• Correct: Me aseguro de cerrarla
• Incorrect: Me la aseguro de cerrar
Could I instead say “Me aseguro de que la ventana esté cerrada cuando llueva”?
Absolutely. That uses the pattern asegurarse de que + subjuntive:
• esté (subjunctive of estar) and llueva (subjunctive of llover)
This version highlights the result (“I make sure that the window is closed”), while the original focuses on your action (“I make sure to close”).
Why is llueve in the simple present rather than a continuous form?
Spanish normally uses the simple present for habitual actions or general truths, even about weather: cuando llueve = “when it rains” in general. You could say cuando está lloviendo (more specific, “when it’s raining right now”), but it’s not necessary.
Can I replace cuando llueve with si llueve? What’s the difference?
They’re not identical:
• cuando llueve = “whenever it rains” (a habitual or expected situation).
• si llueve = “if it rains” (a possibility, a conditional).
Use cuando for regular occurrences, si to talk about potential events.
Why isn’t there an accent on aseguro (some learners might expect asegúro)?
Spanish spelling rules say that if a word ends in a vowel and the stress is on the second-to-last syllable (as in a-se-GU-ro), you don’t write an accent. Aseguro naturally stresses the gu syllable, so no tilde is needed.
