machacar Present Conjugation
machacar — to crush
The present tense of machacar is completely regular: machaco, machacas, machaca, machacamos, machacáis, machacan.
machacar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use this for habitual actions, like how you always crush your spices, or for things happening right now.
Notes on machacar in the Present
Machacar is a standard regular -ar verb in the present indicative.
Example Sentences
Siempre machaco la pimienta antes de cocinar.
I always crush the pepper before cooking.
yo
Ella machaca las patatas con un tenedor.
She mashes the potatoes with a fork.
él/ella/usted
Ustedes machacan a la competencia con estos precios.
You all crush the competition with these prices.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Adding a 'qu' in the present indicative (e.g., 'machaquo').
Correct: machaco
Why: Spelling changes only happen when the vowel following the 'c' changes to 'e' or 'i'. In 'machaco', the 'o' keeps the 'c' hard naturally.
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Related Tenses
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...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: machaca
The imperative of machacar uses the spelling change 'qu' for formal commands (machaque) and 'c' for informal (machaca).
Negative Imperative
yo: no machaques
The negative imperative of machacar always uses the 'qu' spelling change: no machaques, no machaque, no machaquemos, etc.