How do you say “I eat” in Spanish?
“I eat” in Spanish is como, the yo form of the verb comer (to eat) in the present tense.
- Como arroz todos los días. (I eat rice every day.)
- Como a las dos de la tarde. (I eat, or have lunch, at two in the afternoon.)
The present tense in Spanish covers both “I eat” and “I am eating”: Como una manzana can mean either one. Spanish does not usually need the subject pronoun (yo), because the ending already tells you who is acting.
Comer is a regular -er verb. That means it follows the pattern used by hundreds of other verbs, so learning it well gives you a model for many more.
What is the tense form of “eat”?
In English, “eat” and “eats” are the simple present tense, “ate” is the simple past, and “eaten” is the past participle. In Spanish, the equivalent tense for “I eat” is the present indicative (el presente de indicativo). The Spanish verb comer has separate forms for each person, so the verb changes with the subject.
Present tense of comer
To conjugate a regular -er verb, drop the -er and add the present tense endings: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en.
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | como | Como fruta por la mañana. (I eat fruit in the morning.) |
| tú | comes | ¿Comes carne? (Do you eat meat?) |
| él/ella/usted | come | Ella come en casa. (She eats at home.) |
| nosotros/nosotras | comemos | Comemos juntos los domingos. (We eat together on Sundays.) |
| vosotros/vosotras | coméis | ¿Coméis aquí? (Do you all eat here?) |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | comen | Ellos comen pasta. (They eat pasta.) |
Notes:
- Vosotros is mainly used in Spain. In Latin America, ustedes comen is used for “you all eat.”
- Coméis has a written accent on the e. All the other forms do not.
- Because como looks the same as the word como meaning “like” or “as”, context matters. The question word cómo (how) has an accent.
Other tenses of comer
Preterite (completed past action)
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comí |
| tú | comiste |
| él/ella/usted | comió |
| nosotros/nosotras | comimos |
| vosotros/vosotras | comisteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | comieron |
Ayer comí paella. (Yesterday I ate paella.)
This also answers “How to conjugate comer in the past tense?” For a completed action, use the preterite. For habits and descriptions in the past, use the imperfect.
Imperfect (habitual or ongoing past)
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comía |
| tú | comías |
| él/ella/usted | comía |
| nosotros/nosotras | comíamos |
| vosotros/vosotras | comíais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | comían |
De niño, comía mucha fruta. (As a child, I used to eat a lot of fruit.)
Future and conditional
| Subject | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comeré | comería |
| tú | comerás | comerías |
| él/ella/usted | comerá | comería |
| nosotros/nosotras | comeremos | comeríamos |
| vosotros/vosotras | comeréis | comeríais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | comerán | comerían |
Mañana comeré con mi familia. (Tomorrow I will eat with my family.)
You can also talk about the near future with ir a: Voy a comer pronto. (I am going to eat soon.)
Present subjunctive
coma, comas, coma, comamos, comáis, coman
Quiero que comas algo. (I want you to eat something.)
Commands
- tú: come (affirmative), no comas (negative)
- usted: coma
- nosotros: comamos
- vosotros: comed
- ustedes: coman
Come despacio. (Eat slowly.) See our Spanish imperative exercises for more command practice.
Gerund and past participle
- Gerund: comiendo. Estoy comiendo. (I am eating.)
- Past participle: comido. Ya he comido. (I have already eaten.)
Comer versus other verbs for eating
Comer can mean “to eat” in general, but it also has specific meanings in some places.
- In Spain, comer often means to have the main midday meal: ¿A qué hora comes? (What time do you have lunch?)
- Desayunar is to have breakfast: Desayuno a las ocho.
- Almorzar is to have lunch (more common in Latin America), and it is a stem-changing verb (almuerzo).
- Cenar is to have dinner: Cenamos a las nueve.
- Merendar is to have an afternoon snack.
Comer versus comerse
Comerse is a reflexive form that often adds the sense of eating something completely or with enthusiasm: Me comí toda la pizza. (I ate the whole pizza.)
Useful expressions
- dar de comer: to feed
- comer fuera or comer afuera: to eat out (regional variation)
- comerse las palabras: to swallow one’s words
- sala de comer or comedor: dining room
Regular -er verbs that work like comer
Once you know comer, you can conjugate many verbs in the same way:
| Verb | Meaning | Yo form |
|---|---|---|
| beber | to drink | bebo |
| leer | to read | leo |
| correr | to run | corro |
| aprender | to learn | aprendo |
| vender | to sell | vendo |
| comprender | to understand | comprendo |
Contrast this with irregular verbs such as poner (pongo), covered in our guide to the present tense of poner, and with the verbs in our list of common irregular verbs.
What are the six conjugations of ser?
This question often comes up beside comer because ser is one of the first verbs learners meet. In the present tense, ser is: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son. It is completely irregular, unlike comer.
What are the “super 7” verbs?
The term is not standard grammar. Some teachers use it for a short list of very frequent verbs they want students to learn first. Comer is usually not included because it is regular and less frequent than verbs such as ser, estar, ir and tener, but it is a good model for regular -er verbs.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the accent on coméis. It is the only present tense form with a written accent.
- Using -ir endings by mistake: Comer is an -er verb, so the nosotros form is comemos, not comimos (which is the preterite).
- Confusing como (I eat) with cómo (how), which has an accent and is a question word.
Quick practice
Complete the sentences with the right form of comer.
- Yo ___ una ensalada. (present)
- Mis padres ___ temprano. (present)
- Nosotros ___ en un restaurante ayer. (preterite)
- Tú ___ muy rápido. (present)
Answers: 1. como, 2. comen, 3. comimos, 4. comes.
FAQ
How do you say “I eat” in Spanish? Como.
Is comer a regular verb? Yes. It is a regular -er verb with no stem change or irregular yo form.
How do you conjugate comer in the past tense? Preterite: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron. Imperfect: comía, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comían.