Comer

Comer is a Spanish verb meaning “to eat.” It denotes the act of consuming food and is a regular -er verb, so its endings follow the standard patterns for -er verbs. It is among the most common verbs in the language and appears in a wide range of tenses and constructions.

Etymology and cognates: Comer derives from the Latin comedere, formed from com- “together, thoroughly” and edere “to eat.” The verb has cognates in other Romance languages, such as Portuguese comer, with similar core meaning, though its forms vary by language.

Conjugation and forms: In the present indicative, the forms are: yo como, tú comes, él/ella/usted come, nosotros/comemos, vosotros/coméis, ellos/ustedes comen. Comer is regular in its conjugation, with the infinitive comer, the gerund comiendo, and the past participle comido. Other key tenses include the imperfect: comía, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comían; the preterite: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron; the future: comeré, comerás, comerá, comeremos, comeréis, comerán. The present subjunctive forms are: coma, comas, coma, comamos, comáis, coman; and the imperfect subjunctive forms include comiera/comiese, comieras/comieses, comiera/comiese, comiéramos/comiésemos, comierais/comieseis, comieran/comiesen. The imperative forms are: come (tú), coma (usted), comed (vosotros), coman (ustedes).

Usage and nuances: Comer covers eating meals and is used in daily speech to indicate consuming food. The reflexive form comerse adds nuance, often meaning to eat up or to eat eagerly, as in se comió todas las galletas. Common phrases include comer bien, comer fuera, and la comida, referring to the meal or food in general.