Comer means to eat. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen.
Comer in the present tense
Use the present for current states, habits and actions. The subject can be omitted when the verb makes it clear.
Vosotros is informal plural you in Spain. Ustedes uses the ellos/ellas form and is the usual plural you in Latin America.
Comer in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Comer in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Comer in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Comer in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
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All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | como | comí | comía | comeré | comería |
| tú | comes | comiste | comías | comerás | comerías |
| él / ella / usted | come | comió | comía | comerá | comería |
| nosotros / nosotras | comemos | comimos | comíamos | comeremos | comeríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | coméis | comisteis | comíais | comeréis | comeríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comen | comieron | comían | comerán | comerían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | como | I eat |
| tú | comes | you eat |
| él / ella / usted | come | he/she eats |
| nosotros / nosotras | comemos | we eat |
| vosotros / vosotras | coméis | you all (vosotros) eat |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comen | they eat |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comí | I ate |
| tú | comiste | you ate |
| él / ella / usted | comió | he/she ate |
| nosotros / nosotras | comimos | we ate |
| vosotros / vosotras | comisteis | you all (vosotros) ate |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comieron | they ate |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comía | I used to eat |
| tú | comías | you used to eat |
| él / ella / usted | comía | he/she used to eat |
| nosotros / nosotras | comíamos | we used to eat |
| vosotros / vosotras | comíais | you all (vosotros) used to eat |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comían | they used to eat |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comeré | I will eat |
| tú | comerás | you will eat |
| él / ella / usted | comerá | he/she will eat |
| nosotros / nosotras | comeremos | we will eat |
| vosotros / vosotras | comeréis | you all (vosotros) will eat |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comerán | they will eat |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comería | I would eat |
| tú | comerías | you would eat |
| él / ella / usted | comería | he/she would eat |
| nosotros / nosotras | comeríamos | we would eat |
| vosotros / vosotras | comeríais | you all (vosotros) would eat |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comerían | they would eat |
Comer follows the regular er pattern in these five tenses.
The present forms are como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron. For example, comí means “I ate”.
Comer follows the regular er pattern in these five tenses.
The preterite (comí) presents a completed event; the imperfect (comía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I ate” and “I used to eat”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are comeré (“I will eat”) and comería (“I would eat”). The full charts above include every person.
Comer means to eat.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.