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No amasen si la masa está muy pegajosa.

No amasen si la masa está muy pegajosa.
Do not knead if the dough is very sticky.
From Lesson 430:Parallel progression (a medida que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about No amasen si la masa está muy pegajosa.

Since this is a conditional instruction, why does si take the indicative (está) instead of the subjunctive?
In Spanish, si (if) clauses about real or possible situations in the present or future always use the present indicative—never the present subjunctive. Even though the command to knead depends on the condition, the condition itself (si la masa está muy pegajosa) stays in the indicative.
Who is the command no amasen directed at?
It is directed at a group of people. Amasen is the ustedes (plural you) command form of amasar (to knead). In Latin America, ustedes is used for any plural "you," whether formal or informal. Because amasar is an -ar verb, its imperative form takes the opposite vowel ending, resulting in -en.
Are the verb amasar and the noun masa from the same root?
Yes! La masa means "the dough" or "the mass." The verb amasar comes directly from it, meaning "to make into dough" or "to knead." Adding an a- prefix and an -ar suffix to a noun to create an action verb is a very common word-building pattern in Spanish.
Why use está rather than es to say the dough is sticky?
We use está (from estar) because it describes the temporary physical state of the dough at this specific moment in the recipe. If you were talking about a specific type of dough that is inherently sticky by its very nature, you would use es (from ser).

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