cuisiner Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of cuisiner — cook — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. cuisiner is the verb for talking about cooking at home: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a recipe or preparing dinner. This page gives you the complete present table for cuisiner, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je cuisine un repas.” — “I cook a meal.”

Present conjugation of cuisiner

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for cuisiner. cuisiner is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — cuisiner

Person Form
je cuisine
tu cuisines
il/elle cuisine
nous cuisinons
vous cuisinez
ils/elles cuisinent

The gerund of cuisiner is en cuisinant and the past participle is cuisiné. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of cuisiner is formed

The present of cuisiner is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are cuisine, cuisines, cuisine, cuisinons, cuisinez and cuisinent. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example cuisine — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for cuisiner: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of cuisiner

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je cuisine un repas.” — “I cook a meal.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il cuisine des pâtes.” — “He cooks pasta.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous cuisinons pour la famille.” — “We cook for the family.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je cuisine très bien.” — “I cook very well.”

Present vs passé composé: cuisiner finished, cuisiner in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with cuisiner. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je cuisine un repas.” — “I cook a meal.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai cuisiné un repas cette semaine.” — “I have cooked a meal this week.”

  • Present: “Il cuisine des pâtes.” — “He cooks pasta.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a cuisiné des pâtes cette semaine.” — “He has cooked pasta this week.”

  • Present: “Nous cuisinons pour la famille.” — “We cook for the family.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons cuisiné pour la famille cette semaine.” — “We have cooked for the family this week.”

Example sentences: cuisiner in the present

Six sentences using only the present of cuisiner, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “Je cuisine un repas.” — “I cook a meal.”
  • “Tu cuisines des pâtes.” — “You cook pasta.”
  • “Il cuisine pour la famille.” — “He cooks for the family.”
  • “Nous cuisinons très bien.” — “We cook very well.”
  • “Vous cuisinez un repas.” — “You cook a meal.”
  • “Ils cuisinent des pâtes.” — “They cook pasta.”

Common mistakes in the present of cuisiner

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je cuisinons un repas.”

✓ Right: “Je cuisine un repas.”

cuisinons is the nous form. With je the present form is cuisine.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je cuisiner des pâtes.”

✓ Right: “Je cuisine des pâtes.”

The infinitive cuisiner never takes a subject. After je you need cuisine.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai cuisiné pour la famille.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je cuisine pour la famille.”

A habit needs the present cuisine, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je cuisine très bien tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je cuisinais très bien tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect cuisinais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu cuisine un repas.”

✓ Right: “Tu cuisines un repas.”

With tu the present form is cuisines, not cuisine. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of cuisiner

Ten questions on cuisiner. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of cuisiner in the Present indicative?

    • A) cuisinons
    • B) cuisine
    • C) cuisines
    • D) cuisinent

  2. What is the tu form of cuisiner in the Present indicative?

    • A) cuisines
    • B) cuisine
    • C) cuisinez
    • D) cuisinons

  3. What is the il/elle form of cuisiner in the Present indicative?

    • A) cuisines
    • B) cuisinez
    • C) cuisinent
    • D) cuisine

  4. What is the nous form of cuisiner in the Present indicative?

    • A) cuisinez
    • B) cuisinent
    • C) cuisine
    • D) cuisinons

  5. What is the vous form of cuisiner in the Present indicative?

    • A) cuisines
    • B) cuisine
    • C) cuisinez
    • D) cuisinent

  6. What is the ils/elles form of cuisiner in the Present indicative?

    • A) cuisinent
    • B) cuisines
    • C) cuisinons
    • D) cuisine

  7. What is the je form of cuisiner in the Present perfect?

    • A) as cuisiné
    • B) ai cuisiné
    • C) ont cuisiné
    • D) a cuisiné

  8. What is the gerund of cuisiner?

    • A) dormant
    • B) cuisinant
    • C) buvant

  9. What is the past participle of cuisiner?

    • A) bu
    • B) cuisiné
    • C) dormi

  10. What does cuisiner mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) cook
  • C) drink
  • D) open

Answer key

  1. B) cuisine — The je form of cuisiner in the present indicative is cuisine.
  2. A) cuisines — The tu form of cuisiner in the present indicative is cuisines.
  3. D) cuisine — The il/elle form of cuisiner in the present indicative is cuisine.
  4. D) cuisinons — The nous form of cuisiner in the present indicative is cuisinons.
  5. C) cuisinez — The vous form of cuisiner in the present indicative is cuisinez.
  6. A) cuisinent — The ils/elles form of cuisiner in the present indicative is cuisinent.
  7. B) ai cuisiné — The je form of cuisiner in the present perfect is ai cuisiné.
  8. B) cuisinant — The gerund of cuisiner is en cuisinant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) cuisiné — The past participle of cuisiner is cuisiné; perfect tenses use avoir + cuisiné.
  10. B) cook — cuisiner means “cook” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of cuisiner?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For cuisiner that covers talking about cooking at home, describing a recipe and preparing dinner.

Is the present of cuisiner regular?

cuisiner is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of cuisiner?

The past participle is cuisiné. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + cuisiné.

How do I say “I cook” in the present?

Say “Je cuisine un repas.” — “I cook a meal.” The je form is cuisine.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for cuisiner, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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