Introduction
Comer means “to eat”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Comer is the verb for eating a meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner. It is followed directly by the food, with no preposition. Comer fuera means to eat out, and comer en un restaurante means to eat in a restaurant. The place follows en, and fuera needs no preposition at all. This page shows comer in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo como una ensalada para cenar.” — I eat a salad for dinner.
Comer in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how comer is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use comer in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Yo como una ensalada para cenar.” — I eat a salad for dinner.
“¿Tú comes carne?” — Do you eat meat?
“Mi hijo come mucha fruta.” — My son eats a lot of fruit.
“Nosotros comemos fuera los viernes.” — We eat out on Fridays.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show comer in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer yo comí paella en Valencia.” — Yesterday I ate paella in Valencia. (preterite)
“Nosotros comíamos en casa cuando éramos niños.” — We used to eat at home when we were children. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of comer stays the same.
“Ellos comerán en el restaurante nuevo mañana.” — They will eat at the new restaurant tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has comido alguna vez paella?” — Have you ever eaten paella? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Vosotros coméis en casa a la una.” — You eat at home at one.
“Ellos comen paella los domingos.” — They eat paella on Sundays.
“Yo como despacio y sin prisa.” — I eat slowly and without rushing.
“El bebé come puré de verduras.” — The baby eats vegetable purée.
Comer in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how comer appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú comes carne?” — Do you eat meat?
Pablo: “No, yo como una ensalada para cenar.” — No, I eat a salad for dinner.
Lucía: “Nosotros comemos fuera los viernes.” — We eat out on Fridays.
Pablo: “Y ellos comen paella los domingos.” — And they eat paella on Sundays.
Lucía: “Vosotros coméis en casa a la una.” — You eat at home at one.
Pablo: “Sí, y mi hijo come mucha fruta.” — Yes, and my son eats a lot of fruit.
A short paragraph
Lucía come una ensalada para cenar, y su hijo come mucha fruta. Nosotros comemos fuera los viernes, y ellos comen paella los domingos. Yo como despacio y sin prisa, y el bebé come puré de verduras. Comer fills the day from breakfast to dinner, because eating a meal, eating out and eating something specific are all part of the same verb.
Common mistakes with comer
These are the errors learners actually make with comer. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo como de ensalada.” Right: “Yo como una ensalada.” Why: Comer takes a direct object with no preposition: como una ensalada, not como de ensalada. The de appears only in partitive phrases such as 'como un poco de ensalada', where it belongs to poco, not to comer.
Wrong: “Ellos come paella.” Right: “Ellos comen paella.” Why: Ellos needs the ellos form comen. The singular come belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
Wrong: “Yo como paella ayer.” Right: “Ayer yo comí paella.” Why: The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to comí.
Wrong: “Nosotros comes fuera.” Right: “Nosotros comemos fuera.” Why: Nosotros needs comemos. The tú form comes belongs with tú.
Wrong: “Ellos como todos los días.” Right: “Ellos comen todos los días.” Why: The verb must agree with its subject. Ellos needs the ellos form comen, not the yo form como. This is the most common agreement slip in the present tense, and it happens because learners memorise the yo form first and then reuse it for every person.
Quiz: comer in use
Ten questions on comer in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ en casa a la una.” (You eat at home at one.)
- (a) comes
- (b) coméis
- (c) como
Answer: coméis — The vosotros/as form of comer in the present tense is coméis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ paella los domingos.” (They eat paella on Sundays.)
- (a) comen
- (b) como
- (c) comes
Answer: comen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of comer in the present tense is comen.
3. Complete the sentence (preterite): “Ayer yo ______ paella en Valencia.” (Yesterday I ate paella in Valencia.)
- (a) comiste
- (b) comió
- (c) comí
Answer: comí — In the preterite, the yo form of comer is comí.
4. Complete the sentence (imperfect): “Nosotros ______ en casa cuando éramos niños.” (We used to eat at home when we were children.)
- (a) comías
- (b) comíamos
- (c) comía
Answer: comíamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros/as form of comer is comíamos.
5. Complete the sentence (future): “Ellos ______ en el restaurante nuevo mañana.” (They will eat at the new restaurant tomorrow.)
- (a) comerán
- (b) comeré
- (c) comerás
Answer: comerán — In the future, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of comer is comerán.
6. What does comer mean in English?
- (a) to finish, to end
- (b) to serve
- (c) to eat
Answer: to eat — Comer means “to eat”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo como una ensalada.
- (b) Yo como de ensalada.
- (c) Ellos come paella.
Answer: Yo como una ensalada. — “Yo como una ensalada.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I eat slowly and without rushing.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo comen despacio y sin prisa.
- (b) Yo como despacio y sin prisa.
- (c) El bebé come puré de verduras.
Answer: Yo como despacio y sin prisa. — “Yo como despacio y sin prisa.” is the correct translation. The second option means something different, and the third uses the wrong person's form.
9. What is the nosotros form of comer in the present tense?
- (a) como
- (b) comes
- (c) comemos
Answer: comemos — The nosotros form is comemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer yo comí paella en Valencia.
- (b) Ellos comerán en el restaurante nuevo mañana.
- (c) Yo como una ensalada para cenar.
Answer: Yo como una ensalada para cenar. — “Yo como una ensalada para cenar.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I eat out' in Spanish?
Say 'Como fuera' or 'Como fuera de casa'. Nosotros comemos fuera los viernes is the routine version. For a restaurant, say 'Comemos en un restaurante'.
How do you say 'I don't eat meat' in Spanish?
Say 'No como carne'. The negative no goes before the verb, and carne follows directly with no article and no preposition.
Can comer be used without an object?
Yes. 'Yo como a la una' means 'I eat at one', with no object at all. Add food only when you want to say what you eat: 'Como una ensalada'.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of comer — every tense of comer in one place.
- Comer in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on comer and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of comer until they are automatic.