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FRENCH VERB

cuisiner

to cook

  • #140 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: cuisiné
  • Present participle: cuisinant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I cook
  2. tu you cook
  3. il, elle, on he/she cooks
  4. nous we cook
  5. vous you cook
  6. ils, elles they cook

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I cooked
  2. tu you cooked
  3. il, elle, on he/she cooked
  4. nous we cooked
  5. vous you cooked
  6. ils, elles they cooked

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to cook
  2. tu you used to cook
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to cook
  4. nous we used to cook
  5. vous you used to cook
  6. ils, elles they used to cook

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will cook
  2. tu you will cook
  3. il, elle, on he/she will cook
  4. nous we will cook
  5. vous you will cook
  6. ils, elles they will cook

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would cook
  2. tu you would cook
  3. il, elle, on he/she would cook
  4. nous we would cook
  5. vous you would cook
  6. ils, elles they would cook

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I cook
  2. tu (that) you cook
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she cook
  4. nous (that) we cook
  5. vous (that) you cook
  6. ils, elles (that) they cook

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu cook!
  2. nous cook! (let’s)
  3. vous cook! (plural, or formal)

How to use cuisiner

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    C'est mon père qui cuisine le dimanche midi.

    My father's the one who cooks Sunday lunch.

  2. Past

    J'ai cuisiné un poulet au citron pour ce soir.

    I cooked a lemon chicken for tonight.

  3. Imperfect

    Ma mère cuisinait tous les soirs en écoutant la radio.

    My mother cooked every evening listening to the radio.

  4. Future

    Je cuisinerai, et toi tu feras la vaisselle.

    I'll cook, and you'll do the dishes.

  5. Conditional

    Tu cuisinerais quoi avec ce qui reste dans le frigo ?

    What would you cook with what's left in the fridge?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je préfère qu'on cuisine plutôt que de commander.

    I'd rather we cook than order in.

  7. Imperative

    Cuisine un peu plus, ta sœur reste dîner.

    Cook a bit more, your sister's staying for dinner.

Good to know

  • Cuisiner is to cook a dish; faire la cuisine is to do the cooking; cuire is for the food itself.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -er verb.