machacar Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
machacar — to crush
The imperative of machacar uses the spelling change 'qu' for formal commands (machaque) and 'c' for informal (machaca).
machacar Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
Use this to give direct orders to crush something, very common in cooking recipes or coaching.
Notes on machacar in the Affirmative Imperative
Formal commands (usted/ustedes) and 'nosotros' use the 'qu' spelling change. The 'tú' and 'vosotros' forms are regular.
Example Sentences
¡Machaca el ajo con fuerza!
Crush the garlic with force!
tú
Machaquen las patatas hasta que estén suaves.
Crush (mash) the potatoes until they are smooth.
Machaquemos los ingredientes en el mortero.
Let's crush the ingredients in the mortar.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'machace' for the formal command.
Correct: machaque
Why: You must use 'qu' to maintain the hard 'k' sound in the command form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: machaco
The present tense of machacar is completely regular: machaco, machacas, machaca, machacamos, machacáis, machacan.
Preterite
yo: machaque
The preterite of machacar is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes to 'machaqué'.
Imperfect
yo: machacaba
The imperfect of machacar is regular: machacaba, machacabas, machacaba, machacábamos, machacabais, machacaban.
Future
yo: machacaré
The future tense of machacar is regular: add endings to the infinitive (machacaré, machacarás, etc.).
Conditional
yo: machacaría
The conditional of machacar is regular: attach -ía endings to the full infinitive (machacaría, machacarías, etc.).
Present Subjunctive
yo: machaque
The present subjunctive of machacar features a spelling change (c to qu) in all forms: machaque, machaques, machaque, machaquemos, machaquéis, machaquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: machacara
The imperfect subjunctive of machacar is regular, based on the third-person plural preterite: machacara, machacaras, machacara...
Negative Imperative
yo: no machaques
The negative imperative of machacar always uses the 'qu' spelling change: no machaques, no machaque, no machaquemos, etc.