Conjugation table
Cuisiner conjugation: the French verb for cooking
Learn cuisiner with seven tense tables, natural meal examples and common spelling repairs. Separate the noun la cuisine from the verb je cuisine.
- A1
- 7 tenses
- Auxiliary: avoir
- Learn this in the A1 notebook →
In short
Cuisiner is a regular -er verb: je cuisine, nous cuisinons, vous cuisinez. Completed forms use avoir: j’ai cuisiné. La cuisine is a noun meaning the kitchen or cooking; je cuisine is a verb phrase meaning I cook or I am cooking.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Start with the present for an A1 conversation about meals and hobbies. You can say Je cuisine le soir to describe a habit, or Je cuisine une soupe to name what you are making. The six additional tense sections are reference extensions to revisit as your course reaches them.
- Infinitive
- cuisiner
- Past participle
- cuisiné
- Present participle
- cuisinant
- Auxiliary
- avoir
PrésentA current action or regular activity.
| je | cuisine |
| tu | cuisines |
| il/elle/on | cuisine |
| nous | cuisinons |
| vous | cuisinez |
| ils/elles | cuisinent |
Nous cuisinons une soupe.
We are cooking a soup.
Passé composéA completed cooking action.
| j’ | ai cuisiné |
| tu | as cuisiné |
| il/elle/on | a cuisiné |
| nous | avons cuisiné |
| vous | avez cuisiné |
| ils/elles | ont cuisiné |
J’ai cuisiné du riz.
I cooked some rice.
ImparfaitA past habit or action in progress.
| je | cuisinais |
| tu | cuisinais |
| il/elle/on | cuisinait |
| nous | cuisinions |
| vous | cuisiniez |
| ils/elles | cuisinaient |
Il cuisinait chaque dimanche.
He used to cook every Sunday.
Futur simpleA future action.
| je | cuisinerai |
| tu | cuisineras |
| il/elle/on | cuisinera |
| nous | cuisinerons |
| vous | cuisinerez |
| ils/elles | cuisineront |
Vous cuisinerez demain.
You will cook tomorrow.
Conditionnel présentAn action under a condition.
| je | cuisinerais |
| tu | cuisinerais |
| il/elle/on | cuisinerait |
| nous | cuisinerions |
| vous | cuisineriez |
| ils/elles | cuisineraient |
Je cuisinerais si j’avais le temps.
I would cook if I had time.
Subjonctif présentAfter a trigger such as il faut que.
| je | cuisine |
| tu | cuisines |
| il/elle/on | cuisine |
| nous | cuisinions |
| vous | cuisiniez |
| ils/elles | cuisinent |
Il faut que nous cuisinions avant midi.
We need to cook before noon.
ImpératifAn instruction or invitation.
| (tu) | cuisine |
| (nous) | cuisinons |
| (vous) | cuisinez |
Cuisinons ensemble !
Let’s cook together!
The article or subject tells you the job of cuisine
| French | Job | English |
|---|---|---|
| La cuisine est petite. | Noun after la | The kitchen is small. |
| J’aime la cuisine italienne. | Noun naming a cuisine | I like Italian cooking. |
| Je cuisine ce soir. | Present verb after je | I am cooking tonight. |
| Elle cuisine du poisson. | Present verb after elle | She is cooking fish. |
A subject such as je or elle before cuisine makes it a verb in these sentences. An article such as la introduces the noun. Faire la cuisine is a useful expression meaning to do the cooking. Cuisiner names the same activity as a single verb and can take the food directly: cuisiner des légumes.
Keep cuisin- and add the ending
The present stem is cuisin-. Add -ons for nous cuisinons and -ez for vous cuisinez. In the imperfect and present subjunctive nous forms, write cuisinions with the i before ons. In the future, keep the full infinitive cuisiner before adding the ending: je cuisinerai. The conditional uses the same stem with -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
| Avoid | Use | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Nous cuisinez. | Nous cuisinons. | Match the ending to nous. |
| J’ai cuisiner. | J’ai cuisiné. | Use the past participle after ai. |
| Je suis cuisiné ce soir. | Je cuisine ce soir. | The active present does not use être here. |
Je cuisine les légumes avec un peu d’huile.
I cook the vegetables with a little oil.
To personalise the present pattern, choose a food and a time: Je cuisine du riz le lundi. Change the subject and ending together when speaking about others: Nous cuisinons du riz. Keep the meal vocabulary stable while practising the verb forms.