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SPANISH VERB

preferir

to prefer

  • #155 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: prefiriendo
  • Past participle: preferido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I prefer
  2. tú you prefer
  3. usted, él, ella he/she prefers
  4. nosotros we prefer
  5. vosotros Spain you all prefer
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they prefer

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I prefered
  2. tú you prefered
  3. usted, él, ella he/she prefered
  4. nosotros we prefered
  5. vosotros Spain you all prefered
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they prefered

Imperfect

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

  1. yo I used to prefer
  2. tú you used to prefer
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to prefer
  4. nosotros we used to prefer
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to prefer
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to prefer

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will prefer
  2. tú you will prefer
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will prefer
  4. nosotros we will prefer
  5. vosotros Spain you all will prefer
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will prefer

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would prefer
  2. tú you would prefer
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would prefer
  4. nosotros we would prefer
  5. vosotros Spain you all would prefer
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would prefer

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I prefer
  2. tú (that) you prefer
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she prefer
  4. nosotros (that) we prefer
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all prefer
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they prefer

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I prefered
  2. tú (if) you prefered
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she prefered
  4. nosotros (if) we prefered
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all prefered
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they prefered

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú prefer!
  2. usted prefer! (formal)
  3. nosotros prefer! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain prefer! (all of you)
  5. ustedes prefer! (all of you)

How to use preferir

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

  1. Present

    Prefiero el café de olla al americano.

    I prefer café de olla to American coffee.

  2. Past

    Al final preferí quedarme en casa viendo películas.

    In the end I preferred to stay home watching movies.

  3. Imperfect

    De niño mi hijo prefería la playa a la alberca.

    As a boy my son preferred the beach to the pool.

  4. Future

    Seguro mis papás preferirán el restaurante de siempre.

    My parents will surely prefer the usual restaurant.

  5. Conditional

    Yo preferiría viajar en avión, es más rápido.

    I'd rather travel by plane, it's faster.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Pide lo que prefieras, yo invito.

    Order whatever you prefer, it's on me.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Pensé que prefirieras el vestido azul.

    I thought you'd prefer the blue dress.

  8. Imperative

    Prefiere siempre lo fresco a lo enlatado.

    Always prefer fresh over canned.

Where you hear preferir

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

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Prefiero viajar en camión. I prefer travelling by bus.
  • Preferí quedarme en casa. I preferred to stay at home.
  • Después del viaje, preferiré descansar. After the journey, I'll prefer to rest.
21
What Would We Do?

Intermediate Level 1 · preferiría volar

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The Canyon

Intermediate Level 1 · preferiría no pensar

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Verbs like this one

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