The preterite of masticar is used to express when you chewed something at a specific moment in the past. For example, “The dog chewed up my homework last night” – “El perro masticó mi tarea anoche.”

This verb follows the -car spelling-changing pattern in the preterite. The ‘c’ changes to ‘qu’ before ‘e’ to maintain the same sound, which happens in the yo form (mastiqué).

Conjugations

Conjugations of Masticar (to chew) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of masticar indicates completed acts of chewing.

To chew (completed action): Used for specific instances of chewing food, for example Mastiqué bien la comida (I chewed the food well), or El perro masticó el hueso (The dog chewed the bone).

To consider thoroughly: Figuratively used for thinking something over, for example Masticó bien la idea (They thoroughly thought over the idea).

Examples

Examples of Masticar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Mastiqué bien la comida antes de tragarla. (I chewed the food well before swallowing it.)

El perro masticó el hueso durante horas. (The dog chewed the bone for hours.)

Masticaste muy rápido la cena. (You chewed dinner very quickly.)

Los niños masticaron el chicle hasta que perdió el sabor. (The children chewed the gum until it lost its flavor.)

Masticamos las hierbas para probar su sabor. (We chewed the herbs to taste their flavor.)

Apenas masticó la carne antes de tragarla. (He barely chewed the meat before swallowing it.)

Las vacas masticaron el pasto todo el día. (The cows chewed grass all day.)

Mastiqué cada bocado treinta veces. (I chewed each bite thirty times.)

Masticaste con la boca abierta. (You chewed with your mouth open.)

El bebé masticó el juguete de goma. (The baby chewed the rubber toy.)

Masticamos despacio para disfrutar la comida. (We chewed slowly to enjoy the food.)

El ratón masticó el cable. (The mouse chewed the cable.)

Masticaron las galletas ruidosamente. (They chewed the cookies noisily.)

Masticó las palabras antes de responder. (She chewed the words before responding.)

Mastiqué una hoja de menta para refrescar mi aliento. (I chewed a mint leaf to freshen my breath.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Masticar (to chew) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.