preferir Imperfect Conjugation
preferir — to prefer
Preferir is completely regular in the imperfect: prefería, preferías, prefería...
preferir Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this to describe past preferences that were ongoing or habits you used to have.
Notes on preferir in the Imperfect
There are no stem changes in the imperfect for preferir. It follows the standard -ir verb endings.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo prefería jugar solo.
As a child, I preferred to play alone.
yo
Antes preferíamos la música rock.
Before, we used to prefer rock music.
nosotros
Ustedes siempre preferían las vacaciones en la playa.
You all always preferred beach vacations.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Adding a stem change like 'prefieria'.
Correct: The correct form is prefería.
Why: Stem changes for verbs like preferir never happen in the imperfect indicative.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: prefiero
Preferir is an e-to-ie stem-changer in the present tense (yo prefiero, tú prefieres).
Preterite
yo: preferí
Preferir has a small 'e' to 'i' stem change only in the third-person forms (él prefirió, ellos prefirieron).
Future
yo: preferiré
The future tense is regular: just add endings to the infinitive (preferiré, preferirás).
Conditional
yo: preferiría
The conditional is regular and uses the infinitive: preferiría, preferirías, etc.
Present Subjunctive
yo: prefiera
The present subjunctive changes 'e' to 'ie' in most forms, but 'e' to 'i' in nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: prefiriera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'prefir-' stem (prefiriera, prefirieras).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: prefiere
The imperative uses 'prefiere' for tú and 'prefiera' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no prefieras
Negative commands always use the present subjunctive forms (no prefieras, no prefiera).