Spanish Commands.

Question

I tried these commands on the translator.

Eat it=Cometelo

Hit it=Golpéalo

Find it=Encuéntralo

Call it=Llámalo

Throw it=Tíralo

When using comer, "te" is added before "lo". I saw a translation that says "eat it up". Is "comelo" a possibility? What am I missing? The others do not use the IO. Is this because "comerse" is probably used in this case?

It's a very good question why "cometelo" and not "comelo". - Raff75, May 21, 2017

Answer 1

Root:

Machine translators have to make choices. They also make mistakes. I don't think it helps anyone here, including you, to try to inderstand their every quirk.

còmelo eat it - some

còmetelo - eat it up

Thank you, this makes sense to me. - root1, May 21, 2017

Answer 2

"Cómetelo" is the right choice although both expressions are grammatically correct.

** Cómetelo is a compound of the informal second-person singular of the verb "comer" (imperative mood), the indirect object pronoun "te" (for/to whom the action is done) and the direct object pronoun "lo", that receives the action.

It is quite simple to see why the direct object "lo" occurs. The big question is why we need the indirect object "te" there, because apparently there is not a reason.

We need it because it adds a shade of meaning ("te" con función de matización). It relates to the completeness of an action, so we could say it's a matter of emphasis.

Other example, in indicative mood:

Ella se comió el helado (She ate the ice cream).

(A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish)

I can hear my mom telling me to eat my food with emphasis on eating it all. - root1, May 21, 2017