The preterite of masticar is used to express a specific instance of chewing in the past, for example Mastiqué la comida lentamente (I chewed the food slowly). This tense emphasizes the completed action of chewing at a particular moment.

This verb requires a spelling change in the first person singular, changing ‘c’ to ‘qu’ before ‘é’ to maintain the same sound. Otherwise, it follows the regular -ar verb pattern in the preterite.

Conjugations

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

The preterite of masticar indicates a completed action of chewing in the past.

To chew: Describes the action of grinding food with teeth, for example Mastiqué bien la comida (I chewed the food well) or No masticó lo suficiente (He/she didn’t chew enough).

To mull over: Figuratively used for thinking something over thoroughly, for example Masticó bien la idea antes de responder (He/she mulled over the idea before responding).

Examples

Examples of Masticar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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

Masticaste el chicle por horas. (You chewed the gum for hours.)

El perro masticó el hueso. (The dog chewed the bone.)

Masticamos despacio durante la cena. (We chewed slowly during dinner.)

Los estudiantes masticaron sus lápices durante el examen. (The students chewed their pencils during the exam.)

Mastiqué las hierbas medicinales. (I chewed the medicinal herbs.)

Masticaste ruidosamente la manzana. (You chewed the apple noisily.)

La vaca masticó el pasto todo el día. (The cow chewed grass all day.)

Masticamos las galletas crujientes. (We chewed the crunchy cookies.)

Los bebés masticaron sus primeros alimentos sólidos. (The babies chewed their first solid foods.)

Mastiqué el caramelo hasta que se derritió. (I chewed the candy until it melted.)

Masticaste la carne por mucho tiempo. (You chewed the meat for a long time.)

El conejo masticó las zanahorias. (The rabbit chewed the carrots.)

Masticamos el pan duro con dificultad. (We chewed the hard bread with difficulty.)

Los animales masticaron su alimento en silencio. (The animals chewed their food in silence.)

Conjugations with English Translations

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

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.