
We all love to eat and therefore, comer, the Spanish verb meaning “to eat,” will be an important verb to learn to conjugate. Comer is a very common verb and you will find yourself using it several times a day.
Conjugations for Comer
Luckily, comer is a perfectly regular -er verb. Here are the conjugations for comer in several common verb tenses.
Present
Yo |
como |
Nosotros/as |
comemos |
Tú |
comes |
Vosotros/as |
coméis |
Él/Ella/Ud. |
come |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
comen |
Example Sentence:
Los domingos comemos tamales después de la misa. → On Sundays we eat tamales after mass.
Imperfect
Yo |
comía |
Nosotros/as |
comíamos |
Tú |
comías |
Vosotros/as |
comíais |
Él/Ella/Ud. |
comía |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
comían |
Example Sentence:
Cuando eras niño nunca comías las verduras. → When you were young, you never ate vegetables.
Preterite
Yo |
comí |
Nosotros/as |
comimos |
Tú |
comiste |
Vosotros/as |
comisteis |
Él/Ella/Ud. |
comió |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
comieron |
Example Sentence:
El verano pasado, fui a España y comí paella. → Last summer I went to Spain and ate paella.
Future
Yo |
comeré |
Nosotros/as |
comeremos |
Tú |
comerás |
Vosotros/as |
comeréis |
Él/Ella/Ud. |
comerá |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
comerán |
Example Sentence:
Durante las fiestas, comeréis galletas navideñas. → During the holidays, you guys will eat Christmas cookies.
Conditional
Yo |
comería |
Nosotros/as |
comeríamos |
Tú |
comerías |
Vosotros/as |
comeríais |
Él/Ella/Ud. |
comería |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
comerían |
Example Sentence:
Si no estuviera a dieta, comería una hamburguesa con papas. → If I wasn’t on a diet, I would eat a hamburger with french fries.
Reflexive Form
The reflexive form of comer, comerse, is used to express the action of “eating whole/entire thing.” It is often used in the imperative form and followed with the word todo, meaning “everything,” to add emphasis. For example, a mother may say to her son who isn’t eating his dinner:
¡Cómetelo todo! → Eat the whole thing/everything!
Equally, if you are looking at a nice, big piece of chocolate cake you may say:
¡Me voy a comerlo todo! → I am going to eat the whole thing!
It can also mean, “go ahead and finish it” when people are wondering who is going to finish the last bite of something. As a sign of respect to an elderly member of the family, you may say:
¡Comaselo abuela! → Finish it Grandma/it’s all yours Grandma!
By familiarizing yourself with the conjugations of comer in various tenses as well as how to use it in the reflexive form, you’ll never go hungry in a Spanish speaking country!