The preterite of comer is used to express when someone ate something at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I ate paella for lunch yesterday” – “Comí paella para el almuerzo ayer.”

This verb follows the regular -er conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. It’s one of the most common verbs in Spanish and is essential for discussing past meals and dining experiences.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Comer (to eat) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of comer expresses completed acts of eating.

To eat: Used for specific meals or instances of eating, for example Comí en un restaurante (I ate at a restaurant).

To have a meal: Refers to consuming a specific meal, for example Comieron juntos (They ate together).

Examples

Examples of Comer in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Comí sushi por primera vez ayer. (I ate sushi for the first time yesterday.)

¿Dónde comiste durante tu viaje? (Where did you eat during your trip?)

Comimos en un restaurante italiano. (We ate at an Italian restaurant.)

Los niños comieron todos sus vegetales. (The children ate all their vegetables.)

¿Comiste algo antes de salir? (Did you eat anything before leaving?)

No comí nada en todo el día. (I didn’t eat anything all day.)

Comieron hasta quedar satisfechos. (They ate until they were satisfied.)

Comimos juntos después del trabajo. (We ate together after work.)

¿A qué hora comiste ayer? (What time did you eat yesterday?)

Comió muy rápido y se fue. (He ate very quickly and left.)

Comimos paella en Valencia. (We ate paella in Valencia.)

Los invitados comieron todo el pastel. (The guests ate all the cake.)

Comí demasiado en la fiesta. (I ate too much at the party.)

¿Comiste el almuerzo que te preparé? (Did you eat the lunch I prepared for you?)

Comieron en silencio esa noche. (They ate in silence that night.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Comer (to eat) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.