Comerse y beberse: matiz de “entero”

Matiz aspectual con verbos pronominales para comida y bebida (comerse/beberse).
DannisDannis
2 min reading time
(Illustration)

Comer vs comerse. Beber vs beberse. With “se”, the verb sounds more “complete”: it adds the idea of “all, the whole thing” (in English: “to eat/drink it all up”). Very useful in the supermarket or in bars.

Comer chocolate = neutral action. Me he comido la tableta entera = I finished it / I ate the whole bar (focus on the result).

Beber vino = general. Nos bebimos la botella = there was nothing left / we finished the bottle (we drank it all). You use the indefinido for a finished past time: ayer, la semana pasada, etc.

Me he comido = pretérito perfecto (today/recently). Nos bebimos = indefinido (closed/finished past). In Spain, with “hoy” you very often use “he …”.

Pronouns: comérselo / bebérselo when the thing is already known. For example: ¿El bocadillo? Me lo comí. ¿El zumo? Nos lo bebimos. (lo = el bocadillo/zumo)

(Illustration)

Comprehension check:

¿Qué frase indica que terminaron todo?
Ayer bebimos vino.
Ayer nos bebimos la botella.
Ayer estábamos bebiendo vino.
Correct: “nos bebimos la botella” emphasizes “we drank it all (until it was finished)”. Without “se” it’s more neutral.
Look for the idea of “all, the whole thing” — that comes from the pronominal form beberse.
Completa: “Hoy ____ la tarta entera.”
me comí
me he comido
comía
In Spain, with “hoy” people usually use the pretérito perfecto: “me he comido…”. This highlights the connection with the present.
“Hoy” → in (European) Spanish it’s usually followed by the pretérito perfecto (he + participio).
Elige la opción correcta con pronombres: “¿El zumo?” ____
Me lo bebí.
Me bebí lo.
Bebérseme.
Pattern: object pronoun (lo) + verb. “Me lo bebí” is correct. In “Me bebí lo” the pronoun position is wrong. “Bebérseme” is not used like that.
Clitic pronouns usually go before the conjugated verb: me lo bebí.

Discover next:

Related articles

Materials on related topics will help expand your understanding of the topics: