"Co chcesz ugotować?"

Translation: What do you want to cook?

[Metlieb]

Metlieb's notes to go: Gotować = to cook in general, as in I like cooking/lubię gotować. Ugotować = too cook something, implying that you have the intent of finishing the process of cooking, as in I want to cook a soup / Chcę utogować zupe. The same is true for many other verbs taking the u- prefix: Uwolnić / to set free, ubrać / to put on (clothes), upiec / to bake. Also note that some verbs only exist with the u- prefix for some reason.

[immery]

also note that there is no present tense of ugotować .

[Metlieb]

Exactly, as the form describes a finite process, so it only makes sence to use this form with perfective tenses (Ugotowałem zupę) or as an infinite verb (chę ugotować). Thus, there are also no future forms.

[Antosww]

Is there a rule or method to what prefix you add to the verb to make it perfective, or is it just something you have to memorize?

[Metlieb]

Sadly, there is no universal rule and you have to memorize them. I'd suggest whenever you learn a new verb to look up both forms and learn it this way.

[Antosww]

Alright, thanks for the reply

[Zach139472]

What is the difference between modal and perfective?

[Jellei]

Well... they are completely different categories.

Modals are verbs that 'connect' with other verbs, like "I want to cook soup" or "I have to write this essay".

You can translate "to cook" as imperfective "gotować" or perfective "ugotować". Imperfective focuses on the process. In this sentence here, it would mean that you want to cook one thing for a period of time? It's not wrong, but rather weird.

"ugotować" as a perfective verb focuses on the result. And most likely you would want to cook something succesfully, til the end. As perfective verbs could be said to refer to the moment of finishing the action, they cannot be used in the Present Tense.