Introduction
Comer means «to eat». Comer means to eat, and it is one of the most useful verbs in the language: ordering food, talking about meals, describing diets. It is a regular -er verb, and it combines with almost every food word you will ever learn. It is a regular -er verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of comer in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Yo como paella todos los días.» — I eat paella every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | comer |
| English | to eat |
| Verb type | Regular -er verb |
| Gerund | comiendo |
| Past participle | comido |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: comiendo · Past participle: comido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | como |
| tú | comes |
| él/ella/Ud. | come |
| nosotros/as | comemos |
| vosotros/as | coméis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comen |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For comer, the yo form is como, as in «Yo como» in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comí |
| tú | comiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | comió |
| nosotros/as | comimos |
| vosotros/as | comisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comieron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo comí» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comía |
| tú | comías |
| él/ella/Ud. | comía |
| nosotros/as | comíamos |
| vosotros/as | comíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo comía» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comeré |
| tú | comerás |
| él/ella/Ud. | comerá |
| nosotros/as | comeremos |
| vosotros/as | comeréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comerán |
The future tense states what will happen. For comer the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo comeré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comería |
| tú | comerías |
| él/ella/Ud. | comería |
| nosotros/as | comeríamos |
| vosotros/as | comeríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comerían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo comería» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he comido |
| tú | has comido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha comido |
| nosotros/as | hemos comido |
| vosotros/as | habéis comido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han comido |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he comido». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había comido |
| tú | habías comido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había comido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos comido |
| vosotros/as | habíais comido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían comido |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había comido». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré comido |
| tú | habrás comido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá comido |
| nosotros/as | habremos comido |
| vosotros/as | habréis comido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán comido |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré comido» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría comido |
| tú | habrías comido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría comido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos comido |
| vosotros/as | habríais comido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían comido |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría comido si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | coma |
| tú | comas |
| él/ella/Ud. | coma |
| nosotros/as | comamos |
| vosotros/as | comáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | coman |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él coma». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comiera |
| tú | comieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | comiera |
| nosotros/as | comiéramos |
| vosotros/as | comierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comieran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él comiera, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | come |
| él/ella/Ud. | coma |
| nosotros/as | comamos |
| vosotros/as | comed |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | coman |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Come!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | comas |
| él/ella/Ud. | coma |
| nosotros/as | comamos |
| vosotros/as | comáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | coman |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No comas!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.
Example sentences
- Yo como paella todos los días. — I eat paella every day.
- Mi hermana come paella mucho. — My sister eats paella a lot.
- Ayer yo comí paella por la tarde. — Yesterday I ate paella in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo comía paella muchas veces. — As a child, I used to eat paella often.
- Mañana yo comeré paella sin falta. — Tomorrow I will eat paella without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo comería paella ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would eat paella right now.
- Hoy yo he comido en casa dos veces. — Today I have eaten at home twice.
- Espero que él coma paella pronto. — I hope he eats paella soon.
- ¡Come toda la verdura! — Eat all the vegetables!
- Ahora mismo estoy comiendo paella. — Right now I am eating paella.
Common mistakes
1. Forgetting the accent in the preterite
Wrong: comi
Right: comí
The yo preterite of comer carries a written accent: comí. Without it, comi is the present subjunctive yo form, a completely different tense.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo comía paella.
Right: Ayer yo comí paella.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, comí. The imperfect comía describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Como a paella.
Right: Como paella.
Comer takes a direct object with no preposition when the object is food. The personal a is only for people.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú comes paella.
Right: Espero que tú comas paella.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: comas, not the indicative comes. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No come paella.
Right: No comas paella.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no comas. The affirmative come can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of comer in the present tense?
- (a) come
- (b) comemos
- (c) comes
- (d) como
2. What is the él/ella form of comer in the preterite?
- (a) comimos
- (b) comiste
- (c) comió
- (d) comí
3. What is the nosotros form of comer in the imperfect?
- (a) comía
- (b) comíamos
- (c) comías
4. What is the tú form of comer in the future tense?
- (a) comeremos
- (b) comerá
- (c) comerás
- (d) comeré
5. What is the ellos form of comer in the conditional?
- (a) comería
- (b) comerían
- (c) comerías
6. What is the yo form of comer in the present perfect?
- (a) ha comido
- (b) has comido
- (c) he comido
- (d) hemos comido
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of comer?
- (a) coma
- (b) comamos
- (c) comas
8. What is the nosotros form of comer in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) comiera
- (b) comiéramos
- (c) comieras
9. What is the gerund of comer?
- (a) comer
- (b) comido
- (c) comiendo
- (d) como
10. What is the past participle of comer?
- (a) comer
- (b) comido
- (c) comiendo
- (d) comí
Answer key
1. (d) como — In the present, the yo form of comer is como. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (c) comió — In the preterite, the el form of comer is comió. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (b) comíamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of comer is comíamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) comerás — In the future, the tu form of comer is comerás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) comerían — In the conditional, the ellos form of comer is comerían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he comido — In the present perfect, the yo form of comer is he comido. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) comas — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of comer is comas. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) comiéramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of comer is comiéramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (c) comiendo — The gerund of comer is comiendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy comiendo».
10. (b) comido — The past participle of comer is comido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he comido».
Frequently asked questions
Is comer regular or irregular?
Yes, comer is a regular -er verb. Every tense follows the standard -er endings, so once you know the pattern you can generate the whole table. The only thing to watch is choosing the right tense, not the forms themselves.
What are the gerund and past participle of comer?
The gerund is comiendo and the past participle is comido. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy comiendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he comido»).
What is the difference between comer and cenar?
Comer and cenar are often confused. Cenar is to have dinner specifically; comer is to eat in general.
How do I say «I eat» in Spanish?
Say «Yo como». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which tense do learners find hardest with comer?
Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (comí) for a single finished event and the imperfect (comía) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: comer-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: comer-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: beber
- Related verb: cocinar
- Related verb: servir
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz