Introduction
Cocinar means “to cook”, and this page covers exactly one thing: cocinar in the present tense. The present is the tense Spanish speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for cocinar, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about cocinar in the present. Cocinar is the verb for cooking at home: making dinner, preparing lunch, baking a cake. It is followed directly by the dish. For example: “Yo cocino la cena todos los días.” — I cook dinner every day. Everything on this page uses the forms of cocinar exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.
Cocinar in the Present Tense — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cocino |
| tú | cocinas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cocina |
| nosotros/as | cocinamos |
| vosotros/as | cocináis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cocinan |
Gerund: cocinando · Past participle: cocinado
The gerund is cocinando, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy cocinando” means the action of cocinar is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is cocinado, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he cocinado” is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how cocinar is used.
How the present of cocinar is formed
Cocinar is a regular -ar verb, so the present follows the standard pattern with no surprises. Take the stem cocin (the infinitive without its -ar ending) and add the present endings: -o for yo, -as or -es for tú, -a or -e for él/ella/Ud., -amos / -emos / -imos for nosotros, -áis for vosotros, and -an or -en for ellos/ellas/Uds.. That gives you cocino, cocinas, cocina, cocinamos, cocináis and cocinan. Because the verb is regular, once you know the stem and the six endings you can produce every form without memorising a list, and the same pattern works for every other regular -ar verb you learn.
When to use the present of cocinar
The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use cocinar in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. Cooking at home
Cocinar is the verb for cooking at home: making dinner, preparing lunch, baking a cake. It is followed directly by the dish. Example: “Yo cocino la cena todos los días.” — I cook dinner every day.
2. Cooking for someone
Cocinar para + person means to cook for someone. The para marks who the food is for. Example: “Mi madre cocina para toda la familia.” — My mother cooks for the whole family.
3. Cooking with an ingredient or a method
Cocinar con + ingredient or a la plancha, al horno describes how you cook. The preposition tells the listener about the method or the ingredient. Example: “Nosotros cocinamos con aceite de oliva.” — We cook with olive oil.
4. Habits and routines
The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and cocinar is no exception. Use time expressions such as todos los días, siempre or cada semana to make the routine explicit. Example: “Yo cocino la cena todos los días.” — I cook dinner every day.
5. What is happening right now
The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. Spanish often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with cocinar in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Nosotros cocinamos con aceite de oliva.” — We cook with olive oil.
Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose
The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the preterite describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as todos los días or siempre, while the preterite sentences use ayer or la semana pasada. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.
Present Tense: “Yo cocino la cena todos los días.” — I cook dinner every day.
Preterite: “Ayer yo cociné paella para mis amigos.” — Yesterday I cooked paella for my friends.
Todos los días describes a routine, so the present is right; ayer names one finished day, so the preterite is right.
Present Tense: “Mi madre cocina para toda la familia siempre.” — My mother always cooks for the whole family.
Preterite: “Mi madre cocinó para toda la familia ayer.” — My mother cooked for the whole family yesterday.
Siempre signals a routine, so the present fits; ayer names one finished day, so the preterite fits.
Present Tense: “Yo cocino la cena todos los días.” — I cook dinner every day.
Preterite: “Ayer, yo cociné la cena todos los días.” — the same action, but finished yesterday instead of repeated as a habit.
The present sentence is true every day; the preterite sentence is true once, yesterday. That difference — routine versus one finished event — is the whole decision.
Example sentences: cocinar in the present
Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other verbs — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
“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.
“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.
Common mistakes with cocinar in the present
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. 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.
Quiz: cocinar in the present
Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.
1. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ la cena todos los días.” (I cook dinner every day.)
- (a) cocinas
- (b) cocina
- (c) cocino
Answer: cocino — The yo form of cocinar in the present is cocino. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
2. Complete the sentence: “¿Tú ______ bien?” (Do you cook well?)
- (a) cocina
- (b) cocinas
- (c) cocino
Answer: cocinas — The tú form of cocinar in the present is cocinas. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
3. Complete the sentence: “Mi madre ______ para toda la familia.” (My mother cooks for the whole family.)
- (a) cocina
- (b) cocino
- (c) cocinas
Answer: cocina — The él/ella/Ud. form of cocinar in the present is cocina. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ con aceite de oliva.” (We cook with olive oil.)
- (a) cocino
- (b) cocinas
- (c) cocinamos
Answer: cocinamos — The nosotros/as form of cocinar in the present is cocinamos. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
5. What is the vosotros/as form of cocinar in the present?
- (a) cocinas
- (b) cocináis
- (c) cocino
Answer: cocináis — From the table above: vosotros/as takes cocináis. Say it with the example sentence “Vosotros cocináis paella los domingos.” to fix it in your memory.
6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ en el restaurante del pueblo.” (They cook in the village restaurant.)
- (a) cocino
- (b) cocinas
- (c) cocinan
Answer: cocinan — The subject needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, which is cocinan.
7. Which is the correct yo form of cocinar in the present?
- (a) cocino
- (b) cocina
- (c) cocinan
Answer: cocino — The yo form is cocino. The other two options are the él/ella and ellos/ellas forms.
8. Which sentence describes a habit, something that happens regularly?
- (a) Yo cocino la cena todos los días.
- (b) Ayer yo cociné paella para mis amigos.
- (c) Ayer yo cociné paella para mis amigos.
Answer: Yo cocino la cena todos los días. — “Yo cocino la cena todos los días.” describes something repeated, so it takes the present tense. The other two sentences describe single finished occasions in the past, not habits.
Frequently asked questions
Is cocinar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Cocinar is a regular -ar verb: the stem is cocin- and the present endings are -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis and -an. There are no stem changes, so the whole table follows the standard pattern.
Does cocinar take a preposition before a dish?
No. The dish is the direct object: 'Cocino paella', 'Cocino la cena'. Use para for the person you cook for ('Cocino para mi familia') and con for an ingredient ('Cocino con aceite de oliva').
What is the difference between cocinar and hacer la comida?
Cocinar is the verb for the act of cooking, while hacer la comida means to make the meal, including preparing and serving it. The two overlap, but cocinar is the verb you need when you talk about cooking itself.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of cocinar — every tense of cocinar in one place.
- Cocinar examples and quiz — more sentences with cocinar and a ten-question quiz.
- Spanish present guide — how the present works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Present tense conjugator — conjugate any verb in the present instantly.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on cocinar and other verbs.