preferir

to prefer

verb preh-feh-REER Less Common

Origin: Latin praeferre

Usage Note

Preferir is a stem-changing verb (e→ie in the present: prefiero, prefieres, prefiere; e→i in the preterite third person: prefirió). It takes an infinitive or a noun directly — prefiero el café or prefiero beber café — without a preposition. To say you prefer one thing over another, use a: prefiero el té al café ('I prefer tea to coffee').

Examples

"Prefiero el té al café."

Natural Translation

I prefer tea to coffee.

Literal Translation

tea to-the coffee

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