cocer Preterite Conjugation
cocer — to boil
Cocer is regular in the preterite: cocí, cociste, coció, cocimos, cocisteis, cocieron.
cocer Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to state that you finished boiling something at a specific point in time, like finishing a meal prep.
Notes on cocer in the Preterite
Cocer is completely regular in the preterite. It does not have the stem change (o-ue) that it has in the present tense.
Example Sentences
Ayer cocí un poco de arroz para la cena.
Yesterday I boiled some rice for dinner.
yo
¿Cociste las papas antes de pelarlas?
Did you boil the potatoes before peeling them?
tú
Cociéramos los garbanzos por dos horas.
We boiled the chickpeas for two hours.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: yo cuecí
Correct: yo cocí
Why: Learners often try to apply the present tense stem change (o-ue) to the preterite, but it only stays as 'o' here.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: cuezo
Cocer is a stem-changing verb (o to ue) with a spelling change in the 'yo' form (z instead of c).
Imperfect
yo: cocía
The imperfect of cocer is regular: cocía, cocías, cocía, cocíamos, cocíais, cocían.
Future
yo: coceré
The future of cocer is regular: coceré, cocerás, cocerá, coceremos, coceréis, cocerán.
Conditional
yo: cocería
The conditional of cocer is regular: cocería, cocerías, cocería, coceríamos, coceríais, cocerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cueza
The present subjunctive follows the 'yo' form change: cueza, cuezas, cueza, cozamos, cozáis, cuezan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cociera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the preterite stem: cociera, cocieras, cociera, cociéramos, cocierais, cocieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cuece
The imperative uses 'cuece' for tú and 'cueza/n' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no cuezas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no cuezas, no cueza, no cozamos, no cozáis, no cuezan.