The verb to cook · Conjugation
Past Simple of cook
The answer: cooked
A2
A finished action at a definite time in the past.
Quick answer
The Past Simple of the verb to cook is cooked.
Example: I cooked pasta.
Full conjugation in the Past Simple
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| I | cooked |
| You | cooked |
| He / She / It | cooked |
| We | cooked |
| You (pl.) | cooked |
| They | cooked |
Common mistakes to avoid
1. Cook vs chef
A cook is any person who cooks. A chef is a trained professional in a restaurant.
2. What's cooking?
This idiom means what's happening? It is not about food.
Practice quiz
Going further
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Frequently asked questions
What is the past tense of cook?+
Cooked (regular: add -ed).
What is a cook?+
Cook is also a noun. A cook is any person who cooks. A chef is a professional cook in a restaurant.
What does cooking mean?+
Cooking is the activity of making food: I love cooking. What's cooking? (informal) means what's happening?
What is a cookbook?+
A cookbook is a book of recipes. You can also say a recipe book.
What is a cookout?+
A cookout (American English) is a barbecue: a meal that you cook and eat outside. Another word for it: a BBQ.
Related pages: cook Past Simple
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/verbs/cook/past-simple
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.
Keep learning
More forms of the verb to cook are coming soon.