Use of comerse and comer

Question

In the word of the day comer I noticed a construction I have not seen before:

me lo voy a comer and yo me lo como

These seem to use the reflexive comerse. Would any grammar expert out there care to explain when and perhaps why one uses comerse rather than comer. Is there a nuance here? I am not getting it just from the examples.

¡Muchísimas gracias!

Answer 1

Hola Jubilado,

My sources translate "comerse" as to eat up, to consume in one go, to eat greedily. For example:

"El niño se come las uñas" "The child bites his fingernails" "El hombre se comío la manzana de un bocado" "The man ate the apple in one mouthful"

It can also mean to corrode, to eat away. For example:

"La universidad se come casi todo el dinero" "Almost all of the money goes on university fees."

"Comer" is just plain ol' to eat. You now know all I know for what it's worth.

Thanks for responding. Yours and pescador's are both equally good so I can't choose the best. - Jubilado, Nov 21, 2012

Answer 2

When you use verbs like beber, tomar, comer pronominally, it suggests that the action is being done in a short duration, the action is complete and that the action is enjoyable.

Answer 3

I've always understood "comerse" to be something like "to eat up" or "to gobble up." For example, "Me comí dos hamberguesas." I gobbled down two hamburgers.

Maybe a native can add some more insight!

Interesting nuance: the use of a phrasal verb in English to translate a reflexive verb. Feel free to be more erudite in your answer. I can take it! - Jubilado, Nov 20, 2012