mascar Present Subjunctive Conjugation
mascar — to chew
The present subjunctive of mascar requires a c-to-qu spelling change: masque, masques, masque, masquemos, masquéis, masquen.
mascar Present Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Present Subjunctive
Use this when expressing a desire, doubt, or command regarding how someone chews—often used with phrases like 'es importante que' or 'quiero que'.
Notes on mascar in the Present Subjunctive
This tense features a spelling change (c to qu) in all persons to keep the hard 'k' sound before the letter 'e'.
Example Sentences
Es importante que masques bien la comida.
It's important that you chew your food well.
tú
No quiero que el perro masque mis zapatos.
I don't want the dog to chew my shoes.
él/ella/usted
Dudo que ellos masquen chicle en clase.
I doubt they chew gum in class.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: masce
Correct: masque
Why: If you use a 'c', it would be pronounced like an 's' or 'th'. You must use 'qu' to keep the hard 'k' sound from the infinitive.
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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.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: mascara
The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the third-person plural preterite: mascara, mascaras, mascara, mascáramos, mascarais, mascaran.
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.