masticar Imperfect Conjugation
masticar — to chew
The imperfect of masticar is regular: masticaba, masticabas, masticaba, masticábamos, masticabais, masticaban.
masticar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this to describe a past habit (e.g., 'I used to chew gum every day') or an ongoing action in the past (e.g., 'He was chewing when I arrived').
Notes on masticar in the Imperfect
Masticar is fully regular in the imperfect. It follows the standard -aba pattern for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo masticaba chicle todo el tiempo.
As a child, I used to chew gum all the time.
yo
Nosotros masticábamos lentamente para disfrutar la cena.
We were chewing slowly to enjoy the dinner.
nosotros
Ustedes masticaban ruidosamente en el cine.
You all were chewing noisily in the cinema.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: masticabamos (no accent)
Correct: masticábamos
Why: The 'nosotros' form of the imperfect for -ar verbs always needs an accent on the first 'a' of the ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: mastico
Masticar is a completely regular -ar verb in the present tense: mastico, masticas, mastica, masticamos, masticáis, mastican.
Preterite
yo: mastiqué
Masticar is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes to mastiqué to keep the hard 'k' sound.
Future
yo: masticaré
The future of masticar is regular: masticaré, masticarás, masticará, masticaremos, masticaréis, masticarán.
Conditional
yo: masticaría
The conditional of masticar is regular: masticaría, masticarías, masticaría, masticaríamos, masticaríais, masticarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: mastique
Masticar undergoes a spelling change from 'c' to 'qu' in all present subjunctive forms: mastique, mastiques, mastique, mastiquemos, mastiquéis, mastiquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: masticara
The imperfect subjunctive of masticar is regular: masticara, masticaras, masticara, masticáramos, masticarais, masticaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: mastica
The imperative forms are: mastica (tú), mastique (usted), mastiquemos (nosotros), masticad (vosotros), mastiquen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no mastiques
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no mastiques (tú), no mastique (usted), no mastiquemos (nosotros), no mastiquéis (vosotros), no mastiquen (ustedes).