Hey Shawn. As stated before, these two verbs are interchangeable and mean the same thing. If you are really looking for a distinction, then in that case, yes, you are right, the difference would be in the fact that 'comer' refers to the simple action of eating (simple/subtle) while 'comerse' could have the same connotation as devouring, because it emphasizes the completeness of the action. ex: Como pastel - I eat cake (or some of the cake) Me como el pastel - I eat the cake (the whole thing/portion) Also, the reflexive alternative is most commonly used in every day speech, but the former is also understood. Sometimes, there is a slight change in meaning if you use the reflexive.Some examples that delineate the subtle difference are: -Me gustaria comer curry: I would like to eat/try/taste curry. -Me gustaria comerme un curry bien rico: I would love to eat some delicious curry. -Mañana voy a comer sushi : tmw I will eat/ have (some) sushi. -Mañana me voy a comer sushi: Tomorrow I will go grab some sushi. Sometimes, like in the past, it sounds better to use the reflexive. ex: Te comiste la ensalada que te dejé? vs. Comiste la ensalada que dejé? (did you eat the salad I left you? ) In this case, I would personally prefer the former, but here, I think it is just a matter of personal choice/style. Hope that helps. :)

Hi Shawn! This comment might be a bit late but I wanted to add some interestign info I haven´t seen in the previous comments. Recently I have been working with this topic for a research for my Master. And as conclusion (very short) is that when you can quantify what you are eating, then we use the reflexive form: Example: He bebido agua. As a general Information. Without reflexive pronoun. Me he bebido un vaso de agua. With reflexive pronoun, You are quatifying how many units have you eating, then we specify it with the reflexive. Another example without "eat". Hoy voy a beber whisky. Just mentioning the wishky Hoy me voy a beber dos copas de whisky. You are quantifying how many, a number, so we can use the reflexive. I think there is nothing related with the past or future. I hope this answer help you aout.

Yo voy a COMER una manzana = Yo voy a COMERME una manzana. Yo voy a COMER una zanahoria = Yo voy a COMERME una zanahoria. El va a COMER una manzana = El va a COMERSE una manzana. Ella va a COMER una manzana = Ella va a COMERSE una manzana. Ellos van a COMER una manzana = Ellos va a COMERSE una manzana. COMER = COMERSE, only when you use El(HE), Ella(SHE), Ellos(THEY), Eso(IT).

Cómetelo // Cómelo = son iguales dependiendo de preferencia no difference!