The aspectual "se" (Eating and drinking)
You already know verbs like comer (to eat) and beber (to drink). By adding a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se), you change the meaning from a general action to completely finishing the item—similar to "eating up" or "drinking up" in English. This is known as the aspectual se.
| The girl has eaten up the popcorn quickly. | La chica se ha comido las palomitas rápidamente. |
| This afternoon we have drunk up the entire pitcher. | Esta tarde nos hemos bebido la jarra entera. |
Reading and finishing completely
This structure isn't just for food and drinks. Use it with terminar to emphasize finishing something entirely, or with leer to talk about reading a book from cover to cover.
| They have completely finished the tray of chocolate bonbons. | Ellas se han terminado la bandeja de bombones. |
| Yesterday I read the whole trilogy. | Ayer me leí la trilogía entera. |
Attaching to infinitives and commands
Like standard reflexive pronouns, the aspectual pronoun can attach directly to the end of infinitives and affirmative commands.
| For me, it is impossible to eat up all the popcorn. | Para mí, es imposible comerse todas las palomitas. |
When replacing the consumed item with a direct object pronoun (lo, la, los, las), the aspectual pronoun always comes first (e.g., me lo, te la). If you attach two pronouns to the end of a verb, remember to add a written accent mark to maintain the original stress!
| For me, it is the least interesting book; I do not want to read it entirely. | Para mí, es el libro menos interesante; no quiero leérmelo. |
| It is the biggest tray; finish it completely! | Es la bandeja más grande; ¡termínatela! |