Why does the sentence need a "de"?

Question

I read a sentence: Mi perro siempre come de mi comida. I don't understand why it needs a de here?

Answer 1

Quirks of Spanish. (English has them too.)

Here's another example: "Estoy disfrutando de caminar." = "I am enjoying walking."

Do you mean it is a redundant word but we still need it in the sentence? And please give me some English examples. - joygogo, Sep 29, 2013

It's not a redundant word. *That's* the way people speak. - Raja-jani, Sep 29, 2013

Even in English you can say, "My dog always eats from my food." But you choose the simpler sentence for convenience. - Raja-jani, Sep 29, 2013

Thank you very much! - joygogo, Sep 29, 2013

Answer 2

Hi there,

1. Mi perro siempre se come mi comida means My dog is always eating my food. I used present continuous because I think that would be a critic towards the dog. Besides, I added the pronoun se to reinforce that the dog does it by itself.

2. Mi perro siempre come mi comida (without se) means My dog always eats my food. This would be used if you want to express that your dog hasn't a special food. Your dog eats the same food you eat.

3. Mi perro siempre come de mi comida (with de) means that your dog eats a part / a fraction of your food. It could be:

• "Mi perro siempre come de mi comida. Siempre cocino de más para darle a él un poco." - My dog always eats off my food. I always cook too much in order to give him a little.

• "Mi perro siempre come de mi comida. Por eso no me puedo despistar ni un momento mientras estemos aquí fuera en el campo" - My dog is always eating off my food. That's why I can't let my attention wander for a moment while we are out here in the countryside.

[I'm unsure with my English examples but I hope everything is understood. Revise my English, please]

Hola, RC! Your answer is very complete and perfect! Muchas gracias! I hope I can give you 5 votes at a time! - joygogo, Sep 29, 2013

Thank you joygogo. I'm glad to help. I wasn't sure about the "eat off" use. - RelaxingCup, Sep 29, 2013

Answer 3

Mi perro siempre come de mi comida.

"De" can mean of or from, depending on the context. In the case of your sentence, a possible translation can be: My dog always eats from my food.

Thanks! And the photo is cute! - joygogo, Sep 29, 2013