mascar Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
mascar — to chew
The affirmative imperative of mascar uses 'masca' for tú and 'masque' for usted.
mascar Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
Use this to give direct orders to chew something, commonly said to children (e.g., 'Chew your food!').
Notes on mascar in the Affirmative Imperative
The 'tú' form (masca) is regular. The 'usted', 'ustedes', and 'nosotros' forms use the 'qu' spelling change (masque, masquen, masquemos).
Example Sentences
¡Masca bien la comida, hijo!
Chew your food well, son!
tú
Masque despacio para no atragantarse.
Chew slowly so you don't choke.
Masquemos el chicle en silencio.
Let's chew the gum in silence.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: masce (for usted)
Correct: masque
Why: Commands for 'usted' are taken from the subjunctive, which requires the 'qu' spelling change.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: masco
The present tense of mascar is completely regular: masco, mascas, masca, mascamos, mascáis, mascan.
Preterite
yo: masqué
The preterite of mascar is regular except for the 'yo' form spelling change: masqué.
Imperfect
yo: mascaba
The imperfect of mascar is regular: mascaba, mascabas, mascaba, mascábamos, mascabais, mascaban.
Future
yo: mascaré
The future of mascar is regular: mascaré, mascarás, mascará, mascaremos, mascaréis, mascarán.
Conditional
yo: mascaría
The conditional of mascar is regular: mascaría, mascarías, mascaría, mascaríamos, mascaríais, mascarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: masque
The present subjunctive of mascar requires a c-to-qu spelling change: masque, masques, masque, masquemos, masquéis, masquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: mascara
The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the third-person plural preterite: mascara, mascaras, mascara, mascáramos, mascarais, mascaran.
Negative Imperative
yo: no masques
The negative imperative of mascar always uses the 'qu' spelling change: no masques, no masque, no masquemos, no masquéis, no masquen.