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Masticar palomitas fuerte es un hábito muy molesto.

Masticar palomitas fuerte es un hábito muy molesto.
Chewing popcorn loudly is a very annoying habit.
From Lesson 206:Interruption (dejar de)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Masticar palomitas fuerte es un hábito muy molesto.

Why does the sentence use masticar (to chew) instead of a form ending in -ndo like the English translation "chewing"?
In English, we use the "-ing" form (the gerund) as the subject of a sentence, like "Chewing is annoying." In Spanish, you must use the infinitive (the unconjugated verb ending in -ar, -er, or -ir) when a verb is acting as the subject of a sentence. So, masticar is the correct way to say "chewing" here. You would never use masticando as a subject.
Why is fuerte used here to mean "loudly"? Shouldn't it be an adverb ending in -mente?
While you could use an adverb, Spanish often uses certain adjectives in their basic masculine singular form to act as adverbs, especially in everyday speech. Fuerte is very commonly used this way to mean "loudly" or "hard" after a verb. Other examples include hablar rápido (to speak fast) and trabajar duro (to work hard).
Does molesto mean something more severe like "molested"?
No, molesto is a classic "false friend." When describing a thing or a habit like in this sentence, it simply means "annoying" or "bothersome." If you use it to describe a person, it means they are "annoyed" or "upset." The verb molestar just means "to bother" or "to annoy."
How would I use this lesson's topic (dejar de) to tell someone to stop doing this?
You would use dejar de (to stop doing something) followed directly by the infinitive masticar. If you want to tell a friend "Stop chewing popcorn loudly!" you would use the informal command form: ¡Deja de masticar palomitas fuerte!
Is palomitas the standard word for "popcorn" everywhere?
Palomitas (short for palomitas de maíz) is widely understood, especially in Mexico and Spain. However, popcorn has many fun regional names across Latin America! Depending on where you travel, you might hear pochoclo in Argentina, cabritas in Chile, cotufas in Venezuela, or canchita in Peru.

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