The Spanish verb preferir means "to prefer". Below are its 8 tenses as tables, with the irregular forms marked, 4 example sentences and answers to 3 common questions. Press play next to a present tense form or an example to hear it.
The present tense of preferir is yo prefiero, tú prefieres, él/ella/usted prefiere, nosotros preferimos, vosotros preferís, ellos/ellas/ustedes prefieren. It is irregular: 4 of its 6 present forms break the regular -ir pattern. The tables below cover 8 tenses, from the present to the present perfect. Every present form and 4 example sentences have a listen button.
Forms in orange break the regular -ir pattern.
| yo | prefiero (irregular) | |
|---|---|---|
| tú | prefieres (irregular) | |
| él/ | prefiere (irregular) | |
| nosotros | preferimos | |
| vosotros | preferís | |
| ellos/ | prefieren (irregular) |
| yo | preferí |
|---|---|
| tú | preferiste |
| él/ | prefirió (irregular) |
| nosotros | preferimos |
| vosotros | preferisteis |
| ellos/ | prefirieron (irregular) |
| yo | prefería |
|---|---|
| tú | preferías |
| él/ | prefería |
| nosotros | preferíamos |
| vosotros | preferíais |
| ellos/ | preferían |
| yo | preferiré |
|---|---|
| tú | preferirás |
| él/ | preferirá |
| nosotros | preferiremos |
| vosotros | preferiréis |
| ellos/ | preferirán |
| yo | preferiría |
|---|---|
| tú | preferirías |
| él/ | preferiría |
| nosotros | preferiríamos |
| vosotros | preferiríais |
| ellos/ | preferirían |
| yo | prefiera (irregular) |
|---|---|
| tú | prefieras (irregular) |
| él/ | prefiera (irregular) |
| nosotros | prefiramos (irregular) |
| vosotros | prefiráis (irregular) |
| ellos/ | prefieran (irregular) |
| tú | prefiere (irregular) |
|---|---|
| usted | prefiera (irregular) |
| nosotros | prefiramos (irregular) |
| vosotros | preferid |
| ustedes | prefieran (irregular) |
| yo | he preferido |
|---|---|
| tú | has preferido |
| él/ | ha preferido |
| nosotros | hemos preferido |
| vosotros | habéis preferido |
| ellos/ | han preferido |
Preferir is irregular. The present forms include prefiero, prefieres, prefiere, and prefieren, while nosotros and vosotros have preferimos and preferís. Its gerund is prefiriendo.
Lingo7 is an app for reading books in Spanish with a translation under every sentence and audio, so the forms in these tables come back in context.
No. Preferir is irregular.
They are prefiero, prefieres, prefiere, preferimos, preferís, and prefieren. The stem changes to prefier except in nosotros and vosotros.
The gerund is prefiriendo and the past participle is preferido. The present perfect uses haber plus preferido, such as he preferido.