Introduction
Cocinar means “to cook”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Cocinar is the verb for cooking at home: making dinner, preparing lunch, baking a cake. It is followed directly by the dish. Cocinar para + person means to cook for someone. The para marks who the food is for. This page shows cocinar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo cocino la cena todos los días.” — I cook dinner every day.
Cocinar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how cocinar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use cocinar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Yo cocino la cena todos los días.” — I cook dinner every day.
“¿Tú cocinas bien?” — Do you cook well?
“Mi madre cocina para toda la familia.” — My mother cooks for the whole family.
“Nosotros cocinamos con aceite de oliva.” — We cook with olive oil.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show cocinar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer yo cociné paella para mis amigos.” — Yesterday I cooked paella for my friends. (preterite)
“Mi madre cocinaba para toda la familia siempre.” — My mother always used to cook for the whole family. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of cocinar stays the same.
“Nosotros cocinaremos paella el domingo.” — We will cook paella on Sunday. (future)
“¿Tú has cocinado alguna vez paella?” — Have you ever cooked paella? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Vosotros cocináis paella los domingos.” — You cook paella on Sundays.
“Ellos cocinan en el restaurante del pueblo.” — They cook in the village restaurant.
“Yo cocino al horno los fines de semana.” — I cook in the oven at weekends.
“Mi padre cocina los sábados.” — My father cooks on Saturdays.
Cocinar in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how cocinar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Marta: “¿Tú cocinas bien?” — Do you cook well?
Pedro: “Sí, yo cocino la cena todos los días.” — Yes, I cook dinner every day.
Marta: “Nosotros cocinamos con aceite de oliva.” — We cook with olive oil.
Pedro: “Y ellos cocinan en el restaurante del pueblo.” — And they cook in the village restaurant.
Marta: “Vosotros cocináis paella los domingos.” — You cook paella on Sundays.
Pedro: “Sí, y mi padre cocina los sábados.” — Yes, and my father cooks on Saturdays.
A short paragraph
Marta cocina la cena todos los días, y su madre cocina para toda la familia. Nosotros cocinamos con aceite de oliva, y ellos cocinan en el restaurante del pueblo. Yo cocino al horno los fines de semana, y mi padre cocina los sábados. Cocinar fills the day from lunch to dinner, because cooking at home, cooking for someone and cooking with olive oil are all part of the same verb.
Common mistakes with cocinar
These are the errors learners actually make with cocinar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo cocino de paella.” Right: “Yo cocino paella.” Why: Cocinar takes a direct object with no preposition: cocino paella, not cocino de paella. The de appears only in phrases such as 'cocino un plato de paella', where it belongs to plato.
Wrong: “Ellos cocina en el restaurante.” Right: “Ellos cocinan en el restaurante.” Why: Ellos needs the ellos form cocinan. The singular cocina belongs with él, ella or a singular noun such as mi madre.
Wrong: “Yo cocino paella ayer.” Right: “Ayer yo cociné paella.” Why: The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to cociné.
Wrong: “Nosotros cocinas con aceite.” Right: “Nosotros cocinamos con aceite.” Why: Nosotros needs cocinamos. The tú form cocinas belongs with tú.
Wrong: “Ellos cocino todos los días.” Right: “Ellos cocinan todos los días.” Why: The verb must agree with its subject. Ellos needs the ellos form cocinan, not the yo form cocino. This is the most common agreement slip in the present tense, and it happens because learners memorise the yo form first and then reuse it for every person.
Quiz: cocinar in use
Ten questions on cocinar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ paella los domingos.” (You cook paella on Sundays.)
- (a) cocinas
- (b) cocináis
- (c) cocino
Answer: cocináis — The vosotros/as form of cocinar in the present tense is cocináis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ en el restaurante del pueblo.” (They cook in the village restaurant.)
- (a) cocinan
- (b) cocino
- (c) cocinas
Answer: cocinan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of cocinar in the present tense is cocinan.
3. Complete the sentence (preterite): “Ayer yo ______ paella para mis amigos.” (Yesterday I cooked paella for my friends.)
- (a) cocinaste
- (b) cocinó
- (c) cociné
Answer: cociné — In the preterite, the yo form of cocinar is cociné.
4. Complete the sentence (imperfect): “Mi madre ______ para toda la familia siempre.” (My mother always used to cook for the whole family.)
- (a) cocinabas
- (b) cocinaba
- (c) cocinaba
Answer: cocinaba — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of cocinar is cocinaba.
5. Complete the sentence (future): “Nosotros ______ paella el domingo.” (We will cook paella on Sunday.)
- (a) cocinaremos
- (b) cocinaré
- (c) cocinarás
Answer: cocinaremos — In the future, the nosotros/as form of cocinar is cocinaremos.
6. What does cocinar mean in English?
- (a) to finish, to end
- (b) to serve
- (c) to cook
Answer: to cook — Cocinar means “to cook”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo cocino paella.
- (b) Yo cocino de paella.
- (c) Ellos cocina en el restaurante.
Answer: Yo cocino paella. — “Yo cocino paella.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I cook in the oven at weekends.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo cocinan al horno los fines de semana.
- (b) Yo cocino al horno los fines de semana.
- (c) Mi padre cocina los sábados.
Answer: Yo cocino al horno los fines de semana. — “Yo cocino al horno los fines de semana.” is the correct translation. The second option means something different, and the third uses the wrong person's form.
9. What is the nosotros form of cocinar in the present tense?
- (a) cocino
- (b) cocinas
- (c) cocinamos
Answer: cocinamos — The nosotros form is cocinamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer yo cociné paella para mis amigos.
- (b) Nosotros cocinaremos paella el domingo.
- (c) Yo cocino la cena todos los días.
Answer: Yo cocino la cena todos los días. — “Yo cocino la cena todos los días.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I cook dinner' in Spanish?
Say 'Cocino la cena'. The meal follows directly with no preposition. For a routine: 'Cocino la cena todos los días'.
How do you say 'to cook paella' in Spanish?
Say 'cocinar paella'. In the present: 'Vosotros cocináis paella los domingos'. The dish is the direct object.
Can cocinar be used for baking?
Yes, in a general sense, but the specific verb for baking is hornear. 'Cocino al horno' means I cook in the oven, and 'Horneo un pastel' means I bake a cake. Both are correct, but hornear is more precise for baking.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of cocinar — every tense of cocinar in one place.
- Cocinar in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on cocinar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of cocinar until they are automatic.