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BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE VERB

preferir

to prefer

  • #114 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: preferindo
  • Past participle: preferido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. eu I prefer
  2. você, ele, ela, a gente you prefer
  3. nós we prefer
  4. vocês, eles, elas you all prefer

Past

Pretérito Perfeito · finished actions

  1. eu I prefered
  2. você, ele, ela, a gente you prefered
  3. nós we prefered
  4. vocês, eles, elas you all prefered

Future

Futuro com ir · plans: “going to”

  1. eu I am going to prefer
  2. você, ele, ela, a gente you are going to prefer
  3. nós we are going to prefer
  4. vocês, eles, elas you all are going to prefer

Imperfect

Pretérito Imperfeito · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. eu I used to prefer
  2. você, ele, ela, a gente you used to prefer
  3. nós we used to prefer
  4. vocês, eles, elas you all used to prefer

Conditional

Futuro do Pretérito · “would”

  1. eu I would prefer
  2. você, ele, ela, a gente you would prefer
  3. nós we would prefer
  4. vocês, eles, elas you all would prefer

Present subjunctive

Presente do Subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. eu (that) I prefer
  2. você, ele, ela, a gente (that) you prefer
  3. nós (that) we prefer
  4. vocês, eles, elas (that) you all prefer

Past subjunctive

Imperfeito do Subjuntivo · “if I were”, “se …”

  1. eu (if) I prefered
  2. você, ele, ela, a gente (if) you prefered
  3. nós (if) we prefered
  4. vocês, eles, elas (if) you all prefered

Future subjunctive

Futuro do Subjuntivo · “when” and “if” about the future

  1. eu (when) I prefer
  2. você, ele, ela, a gente (when) you prefer
  3. nós (when) we prefer
  4. vocês, eles, elas (when) you all prefer

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders

  1. você prefer!
  2. vocês prefer! (all of you)

How to use preferir

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

  1. Present

    Eu prefiro café sem açúcar.

    I prefer coffee without sugar.

  2. Past

    Ele preferiu ficar em casa ontem.

    He preferred to stay home yesterday.

  3. Future

    Acho que ela vai preferir o quarto maior.

    I think she's going to prefer the bigger room.

  4. Imperfect

    Quando criança, eu preferia praia a piscina.

    As a kid, I preferred the beach to the pool.

  5. Conditional

    Eu preferiria viajar de trem.

    I would prefer to travel by train.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Talvez vocês prefiram a mesa perto da janela.

    Maybe you'd prefer the table by the window.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Se você preferisse outro dia, a gente remarcaria.

    If you preferred another day, we'd reschedule.

  8. Future subjunctive

    Se preferir, eu te busco em casa.

    If you prefer, I'll pick you up at home.

  9. Imperative

    Prefira frutas da estação, são mais baratas.

    Go for fruit in season, it's cheaper.

Where you hear preferir

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Brazilian Portuguese · Beginner Level 2

  • Eu prefiro café. I prefer coffee.
  • Ele preferiu ficar em casa. He preferred to stay at home.
  • Você vai preferir o outro. You're going to prefer the other one.

Brazilian Portuguese · Intermediate Level 1

  • Eu prefiro café sem açúcar. I prefer coffee without sugar.
  • Eu preferi ficar em casa ontem. I preferred to stay at home yesterday.
  • Você vai preferir a reunião às dez. You're going to prefer the meeting at ten.
22
Rio or Chicago?

Beginner Level 2 · eu prefiro · você prefere

Needs a subscription 6
I Need You All To

Intermediate Level 1 · eu prefiro que

Needs a subscription 14
Hot or Cold?

Intermediate Level 1 · preferir

Needs a subscription 1
It's All the Same to Me

Intermediate Level 2 · preferiria

Free

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.