Cocinar vs. hacer la comida
Cocinar is "to cook" in general: Me encanta cocinar. For making a specific meal, Spanish speakers often say hacer or preparar: Hago la cena (I'm making dinner). Related words: la cocina española (Spanish cuisine), el libro de cocina (cookbook).
Indicative tenses of cocinar
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | cocinoI cook |
|---|---|
| tú | cocinasyou cook |
| él/ella/usted | cocinahe/she cooks |
| nosotros/as | cocinamoswe cook |
| vosotros/as | cocináisyou all cook |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cocinanthey cook |
Fully regular. Cocinamos = we cook / we cooked.
Preterite indicative
| yo | cocinéI cooked |
|---|---|
| tú | cocinasteyou cooked |
| él/ella/usted | cocinóhe/she cooked |
| nosotros/as | cocinamoswe cooked |
| vosotros/as | cocinasteisyou all cooked |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cocinaronthey cooked |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | cocinabaI used to cook |
|---|---|
| tú | cocinabasyou used to cook |
| él/ella/usted | cocinabahe/she used to cook |
| nosotros/as | cocinábamoswe used to cook |
| vosotros/as | cocinabaisyou all used to cook |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cocinabanthey used to cook |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy cocinandoI am cooking |
|---|---|
| tú | estás cocinandoyou are cooking |
| él/ella/usted | está cocinandohe/she is cooking |
| nosotros/as | estamos cocinandowe are cooking |
| vosotros/as | estáis cocinandoyou all are cooking |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están cocinandothey are cooking |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a cocinarI am going to cook |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a cocinaryou are going to cook |
| él/ella/usted | va a cocinarhe/she is going to cook |
| nosotros/as | vamos a cocinarwe are going to cook |
| vosotros/as | vais a cocinaryou all are going to cook |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a cocinarthey are going to cook |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | cocinaréI will cook |
|---|---|
| tú | cocinarásyou will cook |
| él/ella/usted | cocinaráhe/she will cook |
| nosotros/as | cocinaremoswe will cook |
| vosotros/as | cocinaréisyou all will cook |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cocinaránthey will cook |
Conditional indicative
| yo | cocinaríaI would cook |
|---|---|
| tú | cocinaríasyou would cook |
| él/ella/usted | cocinaríahe/she would cook |
| nosotros/as | cocinaríamoswe would cook |
| vosotros/as | cocinaríaisyou all would cook |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cocinaríanthey would cook |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he cocinadoI have cooked |
|---|---|
| tú | has cocinadoyou have cooked |
| él/ella/usted | ha cocinadohe/she has cooked |
| nosotros/as | hemos cocinadowe have cooked |
| vosotros/as | habéis cocinadoyou all have cooked |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han cocinadothey have cooked |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había cocinadoI had cooked |
|---|---|
| tú | habías cocinadoyou had cooked |
| él/ella/usted | había cocinadohe/she had cooked |
| nosotros/as | habíamos cocinadowe had cooked |
| vosotros/as | habíais cocinadoyou all had cooked |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían cocinadothey had cooked |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré cocinadoI will have cooked |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás cocinadoyou will have cooked |
| él/ella/usted | habrá cocinadohe/she will have cooked |
| nosotros/as | habremos cocinadowe will have cooked |
| vosotros/as | habréis cocinadoyou all will have cooked |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán cocinadothey will have cooked |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría cocinadoI would have cooked |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías cocinadoyou would have cooked |
| él/ella/usted | habría cocinadohe/she would have cooked |
| nosotros/as | habríamos cocinadowe would have cooked |
| vosotros/as | habríais cocinadoyou all would have cooked |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían cocinadothey would have cooked |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of cocinar
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | cocine(that) I cook |
|---|---|
| tú | cocines(that) you cook |
| él/ella/usted | cocine(that) he/she cooks |
| nosotros/as | cocinemos(that) we cook |
| vosotros/as | cocinéis(that) you all cook |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cocinen(that) they cook |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | cocinara(if) I cooked |
|---|---|
| tú | cocinaras(if) you cooked |
| él/ella/usted | cocinara(if) he/she cooked |
| nosotros/as | cocináramos(if) we cooked |
| vosotros/as | cocinarais(if) you all cooked |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cocinaran(if) they cooked |
Future subjunctive
| yo | cocinare(if) I cook |
|---|---|
| tú | cocinares(if) you cook |
| él/ella/usted | cocinare(if) he/she cooks |
| nosotros/as | cocináremos(if) we cook |
| vosotros/as | cocinareis(if) you all cook |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cocinaren(if) they cook |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya cocinado(that) I have cooked |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas cocinado(that) you have cooked |
| él/ella/usted | haya cocinado(that) he/she has cooked |
| nosotros/as | hayamos cocinado(that) we have cooked |
| vosotros/as | hayáis cocinado(that) you all have cooked |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan cocinado(that) they have cooked |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera cocinado(if) I had cooked |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras cocinado(if) you had cooked |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera cocinado(if) he/she had cooked |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos cocinado(if) we had cooked |
| vosotros/as | hubierais cocinado(if) you all had cooked |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran cocinado(if) they had cooked |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere cocinado(if) I will have cooked |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres cocinado(if) you will have cooked |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere cocinado(if) he/she will have cooked |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos cocinado(if) we will have cooked |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis cocinado(if) you all will have cooked |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren cocinado(if) they will have cooked |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of cocinar
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | cocinacook! |
|---|---|
| usted | cocinecook! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | cocinemoslet's cook! |
| vosotros/as | cocinadcook! (you all) |
| ustedes | cocinencook! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no cocinesdon't cook! |
|---|---|
| usted | no cocinedon't cook! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no cocinemoslet's not cook! |
| vosotros/as | no cocinéisdon't cook! (you all) |
| ustedes | no cocinendon't cook! (you all, formal) |
Practice cocinar
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and cocinar.
How to use cocinar
Me encanta cocinar.
I love cooking.
Cociné una paella para mis amigos.
I cooked a paella for my friends.
¿Quién cocina en tu casa?
Who cooks in your house?
Cocina las verduras al vapor.
Steam the vegetables.
Mi padre cocina muy bien.
My father cooks really well.
Example sentences with cocinar
- Cocino todos los días.I cook every day.
- ¿Qué cocinamos hoy?What shall we cook today?
- Mi abuela cocinaba los domingos.My grandmother used to cook on Sundays.
- Estoy cocinando, te llamo luego.I'm cooking, I'll call you later.
- Esta noche cocinaré yo.Tonight I'll cook.
- Si tuviera tiempo, cocinaría más.If I had time, I'd cook more.
- No cocines con tanto aceite.Don't cook with so much oil.
- Nunca he cocinado pescado.I've never cooked fish.
Verbs like cocinar
Cocinar follows the regular -ar pattern, like the other food verbs cenar, desayunar and preparar.
Frequently asked questions about cocinar
Is cocinar regular or irregular?
Cocinar is completely regular in every tense.
How do you conjugate cocinar in the present tense?
cocino, cocinas, cocina, cocinamos, cocináis, cocinan.
How do you conjugate cocinar in the preterite?
cociné, cocinaste, cocinó, cocinamos, cocinasteis, cocinaron.
What is the difference between cocinar and cocina?
Cocinar is the verb (to cook); la cocina is the kitchen or a cuisine. Cocina is also "he/she cooks".
How do you say "I'm cooking"?
Estoy cocinando.
What is the past participle of cocinar?
The past participle is cocinado and the gerund is cocinando.
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