mascar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
mascar — to chew
The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the third-person plural preterite: mascara, mascaras, mascara, mascáramos, mascarais, mascaran.
mascar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical situations or past requests, such as 'If I chewed more slowly...' or 'They asked me to chew quietly'.
Notes on mascar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is regular based on the preterite stem 'mascar-'. No spelling changes are needed here because the vowel is 'a'.
Example Sentences
Si yo mascara más lento, disfrutaría más la cena.
If I chewed more slowly, I would enjoy dinner more.
yo
Me pidió que no mascara chicle durante la entrevista.
He asked me not to chew gum during the interview.
yo
Si nosotros mascáramos tabaco, nos sentiríamos mal.
If we chewed tobacco, we would feel sick.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: mascaramos
Correct: mascáramos
Why: The 'nosotros' form of the imperfect subjunctive always requires a written accent on the vowel before the suffix.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'mascar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
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.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: masca
The affirmative imperative of mascar uses 'masca' for tú and 'masque' for usted.
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.