asegurar taking the subjunctive

From the Travelogue (1.6):
- Te has asegurado de que tienes mis números de contacto.
(You)'ve made sure (you) have my contact numbers.

From the Travelogue (11.6):
- Me aseguré que tuviéramos todo el equipo,
I made sure we had the all of the equipment,

Any ideas as to why the second phrase takes the subjunctive and the first does not? Is it a reflection of the relative uncertainty the speaker has with respect to the object of his/her assurance?
 

¡Hola Steven-W15!

Asegurarse is difficult to pin down when it comes to using the subjunctive vs. the indicative. You're on the right track here. Essentially, if asegurarse is being used to mean "to confirm" or "to check" (something that the speaker is fairly certain of), then the indicative should be used - there is a higher degree of certainty here. On the other hand, if asegurarse is being used to mean "to ensure" (that something happens), then the subjunctive should be used - that degree of certainty is not present.

So in the first sentence, something fairly certain was simply being checked; thus, the indicative is used. In the second sentence, an outcome is being ensured; thus, the subjunctive is used. 

I hope that this helps! If you are still unclear on this, do let me know.

Saludos, 

Liss

Perfect. Thanks, Liss!