Cocer Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of cocer — "to cook (boil/bake)" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for cocer with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Cocer means to cook food by boiling, steaming or baking: cocer las patatas, cocer el pan. The stem changes o to ue, and a z appears in the first person: cuezo, cueces, cuece. To see it in a real sentence: Yo cuezo las patatas en agua con sal — "I cook the potatoes in salted water".
Present tense conjugation table: cocer
Every person of cocer in the present tense. The gerund is cociendo and the past participle is cocido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cuezo |
| tú | cueces |
| él/ella/Ud. | cuece |
| nosotros/as | cocemos |
| vosotros/as | cocéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cuecen |
How the present of cocer is formed
The present of cocer is built from the stem coc- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | cuezo |
| tú | -es | cueces |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | cuece |
| nosotros/as | -emos | cocemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | cocéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | cuecen |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: cuezo, cueces, cuece and cuecen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: cocemos, cocéis.
The gerund of cocer is cociendo and the past participle is cocido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of cocer
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and cocer appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo cuezo las patatas en agua con sal" — "Every day, I cook the potatoes in salted water"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo cuece el arroz a fuego lento" — "My friend cooks the rice over a low heat"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo cuezo el pan en el horno" — "Right now, I cook the bread in the oven"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros cocemos las verduras al vapor" — "Tomorrow, we cook the vegetables steamed"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos cuecen los huevos durante diez minutos" — "They cook the eggs for ten minutes"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo cuezo las patatas en agua con sal — "I cook the potatoes in salted water"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo cocí las patatas en agua con sal — "I cooked the potatoes in salted water"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú cueces el arroz a fuego lento — "You cook the rice over a low heat"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú cocías el arroz a fuego lento — "You used to cook the rice over a low heat"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él cuece el pan en el horno — "He cooks the bread in the oven"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él cocerá el pan en el horno — "He will cook the bread in the oven"
Examples: cocer in the present tense
Seven sentences that show cocer in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo cuezo las patatas en agua con sal — "I cook the potatoes in salted water"
- Tú cueces el arroz a fuego lento — "You cook the rice over a low heat"
- Él cuece el pan en el horno — "He cooks the bread in the oven"
- Nosotros cocemos las verduras al vapor — "We cook the vegetables steamed"
- Vosotros cocéis los huevos durante diez minutos — "You cook the eggs for ten minutes"
- Ellos cuecen las patatas en agua con sal — "They cook the potatoes in salted water"
- Yo cuezo el arroz a fuego lento — "I cook the rice over a low heat"
Common mistakes with cocer in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with cocer in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo coco las patatas en agua con sal.
✓ Correct: Yo cuezo las patatas en agua con sal.
cocer is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is cuezo, not coco.
✗ *Tú cuece el arroz a fuego lento.
✓ Correct: Tú cueces el arroz a fuego lento.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes cueces, él takes cuece.
✗ *Cada día, yo cocí el pan en el horno
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo cuezo el pan en el horno
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros coceis las verduras al vapor.
✓ Correct: Vosotros cocéis las verduras al vapor.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: cocéis, not coceis.
Quiz: cocer in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of cocer. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of cocer for tú? A. cueces B. cuezo C. cuece D. cocemos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ las patatas en agua con sal — "I cook the potatoes in salted water" (present) A. cuezo B. cueces C. cuece D. cocemos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el arroz a fuego lento — "He cooks the rice over a low heat" (present) A. cocemos B. cuece C. cuezo D. cueces
Which is the correct present form of cocer for nosotros? A. cueces B. cuece C. cuecen D. cocemos
Which sentence uses cocer correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo cocemos el pan en el horno B. Mi amigo cuece el pan en el horno C. Mi amigo cueces el pan en el horno D. Mi amigo cocía el pan en el horno
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ las verduras al vapor — "You cook the vegetables steamed" (present) A. cocéis B. cuezo C. cueces D. cuece
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ los huevos durante diez minutos — "They cook the eggs for ten minutes" (present) A. cueces B. cuece C. cuecen D. cuezo
What is the gerund of cocer? A. cuezo B. cocí C. cociendo D. cocido
Answer key
- cueces — The tú form in the present is cueces.
- cuezo — The present form for yo is cuezo.
- cuece — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is cuece.
- cocemos — The nosotros form in the present is cocemos.
- Mi amigo cuece el pan en el horno — Mi amigo cuece el pan en el horno is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- cocéis — The present form for vosotros/as is cocéis.
- cuecen — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is cuecen.
- cociendo — The gerund is cociendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle cocido.
Frequently asked questions
Is cocer regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: cuezo, cueces, cuece and cuecen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: cocemos, cocéis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of cocer?
The gerund is cociendo and the past participle is cocido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I cook" in the present tense?
Say cuezo. For example: Yo cuezo las patatas en agua con sal — "I cook the potatoes in salted water".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of cocer?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo cuezo las patatas en agua con sal — "I cook the potatoes in salted water". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo cocí las patatas en agua con sal — "Yesterday, I cooked the potatoes in salted water". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of cocer — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- cocer examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.