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ITALIAN VERB

preferire

to prefer

  • #90 most used
  • Regular -ire verb
  • Past participle: preferito
  • Gerund: preferendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I prefer
  2. tu you prefer
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she prefers
  4. noi we prefer
  5. voi you all prefer
  6. loro they prefer

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I prefered
  2. tu you prefered
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she prefered
  4. noi we prefered
  5. voi you all prefered
  6. loro they prefered

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to prefer
  2. tu you used to prefer
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to prefer
  4. noi we used to prefer
  5. voi you all used to prefer
  6. loro they used to prefer

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will prefer
  2. tu you will prefer
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will prefer
  4. noi we will prefer
  5. voi you all will prefer
  6. loro they will prefer

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would prefer
  2. tu you would prefer
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would prefer
  4. noi we would prefer
  5. voi you all would prefer
  6. loro they would prefer

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I prefer
  2. tu (that) you prefer
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she prefer
  4. noi (that) we prefer
  5. voi (that) you all prefer
  6. loro (that) they prefer

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu prefer!
  2. Lei prefer! (formal)
  3. noi prefer! (let’s)
  4. voi prefer! (all of you)

How to use preferire

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

  1. Present

    Preferisco il tè al caffè, grazie.

    I prefer tea to coffee, thanks.

  2. Past

    Abbiamo preferito restare a casa, pioveva.

    We preferred to stay home, it was raining.

  3. Imperfect

    Da bambino preferivo il mare alla montagna.

    As a child I preferred the sea to the mountains.

  4. Future

    Preferirai sicuramente la camera con vista.

    You'll surely prefer the room with a view.

  5. Conditional

    Preferirei un tavolo fuori, se possibile.

    I'd rather have a table outside, if possible.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Credo che Anna preferisca il vino bianco.

    I think Anna prefers white wine.

  7. Imperative

    Preferisci sempre la frutta ai dolci, fa bene.

    Always prefer fruit to sweets, it's good for you.

Good to know

  • What you prefer something to comes with a: preferisco il tè al caffè.
  • Preferirei is I'd rather: preferirei restare a casa.

Where you hear preferire

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

Italian · Beginner Level 3

  • Preferisco il legno. I prefer the wood.
  • Ho preferito le tegole. I preferred the tiles.
  • Preferirò la casa calda. I will prefer the warm house.
4
Tiles and Wood

Beginner Level 3 · Quali preferisce Lei? · Io preferisco il legno. Dura cento anni. · Allora il legno. Lo preferisco anch'io.

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ire verb.