Ella come una nuez antes de entrenar para tener más energía.

She eats a walnut before training to have more energy.

Breakdown of Ella come una nuez antes de entrenar para tener más energía.

• ella: she
• de: of
• comer: to eat
• tener: to have

Questions & Answers about Ella come una nuez antes de entrenar para tener más energía.

Why is it come and not comer?

Comer is the infinitive form: to eat.

In the sentence we need the verb conjugated for she in the present tense:

• infinitive: comer = to eat
• yo como = I eat
• tú comes = you eat
• él / ella come = he / she eats
• nosotros comemos = we eat
• ellos comen = they eat

So ella come literally means she eats.

Also, Spanish uses the simple present for both:

• general habits: Ella come una nuez antes de entrenar = She eats a nut before training (habit)
• and sometimes actions happening now, depending on context.

Do you really need to say Ella, or could you just say Come una nuez…?

You can say either:

• Ella come una nuez antes de entrenar…
• Come una nuez antes de entrenar…

In Spanish the subject pronoun (like ella, él, yo) is often dropped, because the verb ending (come) already tells you the subject is he/she/you (formal).

You typically include ella when:

• you want to emphasize it’s she (not someone else),
• you need to contrast:
  Ella come una nuez, pero él no come nada.
  She eats a nut, but he doesn’t eat anything.

If the context is already clear, Come una nuez antes de entrenar… is perfectly natural.