masticamos

Masticamos is a Spanish verb form derived from masticar, meaning to chew. It is the first-person plural form for the verb’s stem in the present indicative and, in some contexts, in the preterite (simple past). Because the spelling is identical for present and preterite in this person and number, the intended tense is determined by context and time markers.

In the present tense, masticamos means "we chew," as in desencaden an action that happens regularly or currently. For example: Masticamos el pan lentamente. In the preterite, it can mean "we chewed," referring to a completed action in the past, as in: Ayer masticamos chicle durante la clase. The imperfect form is masticábamos and expresses ongoing or habitual past action: Eran tiempos en que masticábamos chicle a menudo.

Conjugation context: masticamos is the nosotros form of the -ar verb masticar. Other present-tense forms include mastico, masticas, mastica, masticáis, mastican. The present participle is masticando, and the past participle is masticado. The form masticamos thus participates in multiple tenses, with disambiguation provided by surrounding words.

Etymology: the verb masticar comes from Latin masticare, meaning to chew, and is related to the broader family of Romance-language terms for chewing and mastication.

See also: masticar, conjugation of Spanish verbs, linguistics of tense and aspect.