Comer (to eat) · All tenses

Comer = to eat (general or repeated act): 'como pizza' (I eat pizza). Comerse = to eat up completely or to devour (one specific portion, with emphasis): 'me como la pizza' (I'm eating the whole pizza). The reflexive 'comerse' adds an intensifier — a sense of finishing the food or consuming all of it. Native speakers use 'comerse' for specific finished portions and 'comer' for general or ongoing eating.

Spanish has three regular conjugation classes, each with a paradigm 'model' verb: hablar (-ar), comer (-er), vivir (-ir). Every regular verb in the language follows one of these three patterns exactly. The endings differ slightly between classes (compare hablo, como, vivo for the yo form), but once you learn the three models you can conjugate hundreds of verbs without further memorization.

The preterite of comer is: yo comí, tú comiste, él/ella/usted comió, nosotros/as comimos, vosotros/as comisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes comieron. The accents on 'comí' and 'comió' are required — they signal the preterite and shift stress to the last syllable. Every regular -er and -ir verb shares this exact ending pattern (vivir → viví, vivió; aprender → aprendí, aprendió).

Yes — -er and -ir verbs share identical preterite endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. Compare comer (comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron) with vivir (viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron) — they differ only in spelling, not pattern. Only -ar verbs have a different preterite pattern (hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron).

Use 'comí' for a specific completed meal: 'Anoche comí pizza' (Last night I ate pizza). Use 'comía' for habitual or ongoing past eating: 'De niño, comía pizza cada viernes' (As a child, I used to eat pizza every Friday). Preterite = one-time event; imperfect = habitual or descriptive.

Comer follows the regular -er imperfect pattern: yo comía, tú comías, él/ella/usted comía, nosotros/as comíamos, vosotros/as comíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes comían. The accent on 'í' is required in every form to break the i-vowel hiatus.

Yes — -er and -ir verbs share identical imperfect endings: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. Compare comer (comía, comías…) with vivir (vivía, vivías…). -ar verbs use a different imperfect pattern (-aba endings: hablaba, hablabas…). Only three Spanish verbs have irregular imperfects: ser (era), ir (iba), and ver (veía).

Use 'comía' for habitual or repeated past eating: 'Cada domingo, comía con mi familia' (Every Sunday, I used to eat with my family). Use 'comí' for one-time completed eating: 'El domingo, comí con mi familia' (On Sunday, I ate with my family). 'Comía' also works for an ongoing action interrupted by something: 'Comía cuando sonó el teléfono' (I was eating when the phone rang).

The present subjunctive of comer is: yo coma, tú comas, él/ella/usted coma, nosotros/as comamos, vosotros/as comáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes coman. -er verbs swap their indicative 'e' endings for 'a' endings — every regular -er verb follows this pattern (beber → beba, leer → lea).

Use it after triggers of doubt, emotion, will, or impersonal expressions: 'Quiero que comas algo' (I want you to eat something), 'Es importante que comamos juntos' (It's important we eat together), 'Dudo que coman pescado' (I doubt they eat fish). Negative commands also use the subjunctive: 'No comas tan rápido' (Don't eat so fast).

Spanish subjunctive endings flip the thematic vowel: -ar verbs (which use 'a' in the indicative) use 'e' in the subjunctive (hable); -er/-ir verbs (which use 'e/i' in the indicative) use 'a' in the subjunctive (coma, viva). This vowel-flip pattern was inherited from Latin and signals the mood shift across every conjugated form. The result: -er and -ir verbs share IDENTICAL subjunctive forms (coma/viva, comas/vivas, coma/viva, comamos/vivamos…).

The future of comer is: yo comeré, tú comerás, él/ella/usted comerá, nosotros/as comeremos, vosotros/as comeréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes comerán. The full infinitive 'comer' serves as the future stem — same predictable pattern as every regular Spanish verb.

Yes — the future endings (-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án) are identical across all three conjugation classes. Compare hablaré (-ar), comeré (-er), viviré (-ir). The only differences come from irregular stems: about 12 high-frequency verbs use contracted stems (haré, diré, tendré, etc.) instead of the full infinitive. Comer, like every regular verb, keeps the full infinitive.

Both express future eating. 'Comeré' (simple future) feels slightly more formal, more committed, or further in time. 'Voy a comer' (going-to future) is more conversational for near-term plans: 'Esta noche voy a comer pizza' (Tonight I'm going to eat pizza). The simple future also expresses conjecture: '¿Qué comerá Juan?' = 'What could Juan be eating? / I wonder what he'll eat.'