Preferir Conjugation 101: Conjugate Preferir in Spanish

Preferir conjugation patterns can help you practice -IR verbs with E to IE changes. Since these are common conjugation models, in this guide, we’ll learn how to conjugate preferir in Spanish. Here is a summary of what we’ll cover:

Overview of Preferir

Verb Characteristic	Property
Verb Type	-IR
Irregular	No
Infinitive	Preferir
Gerund (Present Participle) Form	Prefiriendo
Past Participle Form	Preferido
Synonyms	Querer, elegir, favorecer.

Stem Changes: E to IE and E to I

Present Indicative: prefier for all subject pronouns except ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’.
Preterite: prefir for the third person singular and plural.
Present Subjunctive: prefier for all subject pronouns except ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’.
Imperfect Subjunctive: prefirie for all subject pronouns.

Indicative Conjugations of Preferir

Present tense

Preferir present tense conjugation has an E to IE stem change for all pronouns except ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’. See these changes in the conjugation chart below. These preferir conjugations allow you to talk about a person’s preferences. For example: Prefiero quedarme a descansar.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Prefiero	I prefer
Tú	Prefieres	You prefer
Él / Ella Usted	Prefiere	He/She prefers You (formal) prefer
Nosotros	Preferimos	We prefer
Vosotros	Preferís	You prefer
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Prefieren	They prefer You (plural) prefer

Preterite tense

The preferir conjugation in the preterite tense has an E to I stem change only for the third-person singular and plural. Use these conjugations of preferir to refer to someone’s past preferences. For instance: Mis papás prefirieron comer pizza.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Preferí	I preferred
Tú	Preferiste	You preferred
Él / Ella Usted	Prefirió	He/She preferred You (formal) preferred
Nosotros	Preferimos	We preferred
Vosotros	Preferisteis	You preferred
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Prefirieron	They preferred You (plural) preferred

Imperfect tense

In the past imperfect tense, preferir is used to talk about what people used to prefer for a long period in the past. Here is an example: De niña, yo prefería quedarme con mi mamá.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Prefería	I preferred I used to prefer
Tú	Preferías	You preferred You used to prefer
Él / Ella Usted	Prefería	He/She preferred He/She used to prefer You (formal) You (formal) used to prefer
Nosotros	Preferíamos	We preferred We used to prefer
Vosotros	Preferíais	You preferred You used to prefer
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Preferían	They preferred They used to prefer You (plural) preferred You (plural) used to prefer

Near future

Ir (present tense) + a + preferir is how we form the near future in Spanish. Use these conjugations to say that people will prefer to do something soon in the future. For example: ¿Vas a preferir quedarte que ir a la fiesta?

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Voy a preferir	I’m going to prefer
Tú	Vas a preferir	You’re going to prefer
Él / Ella Usted	Va a preferir	He/She is going to prefer You (formal) are going to prefer
Nosotros	Vamos a preferir	We’re going to prefer
Vosotros	Vais a preferir	You’re going to prefer
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Van a preferir	They’re going to prefer You (plural) are going to prefer

Future simple tense

Conjugate preferir to the future tense to explain that someone will prefer something in the future. For instance: Estoy segura que Luna preferirá la ensalada.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Preferiré	I will prefer
Tú	Preferirás	You will prefer
Él / Ella Usted	Preferirá	He/She will prefer You (formal) will prefer
Nosotros	Preferiremos	We will prefer
Vosotros	Preferiréis	You (formal) will prefer
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Preferirán	They will prefer You (plural) will prefer

Conditional tense

As shown in the preferir conjugation chart below, this verb has no stem changes when conjugated to the conditional tense. We use these forms to explain or ask if someone would prefer something. For instance: ¿Preferirían que no les dijera nada?

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Preferiría	I would prefer
Tú	Preferirías	You would prefer
Él / Ella Usted	Preferiría	He/She would prefer You (formal) would prefer
Nosotros	Preferiríamos	We would prefer
Vosotros	Preferiríais	You would prefer
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Preferirían	They would prefer You (plural) would prefer

Present perfect tense

To conjugate to the present perfect indicative tense, use present forms of haber + preferido. When using these preferir conjugations, you’re explaining that someone has or hasn’t preferred something. For instance: Siempre hemos preferido dormir en casa.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	He preferido	I have preferred
Tú	Has preferido	You have preferred
Él / Ella Usted	Ha preferido	He/She has preferred You (formal) have preferred
Nosotros	Hemos preferido	We have preferred
Vosotros	Habéis preferido	You have preferred
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Han preferido	They have preferred You (plural) have preferred

Take Note: Preferido can also work as a past participle adjective. In this context, this word is combined with the verb ser, and it means ‘favorite’. Es mi comida preferida.

Past perfect

Preferir in the past perfect tense communicates that someone had or hadn’t preferred something before another reference point. For example: Hasta ayer, yo siempre había preferido quedarme en casa.

To form the past perfect tense in Spanish, use haber’s imperfect forms + preferido

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Había preferido	I had preferred
Tú	Habías preferido	You had preferred
Él / Ella Usted	Había preferido	He/She had preferred You (formal) had preferred
Nosotros	Habíamos preferido	We had preferred
Vosotros	Habíais preferido	You had preferred
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Habían preferido	They had preferred You (plural) had preferred

Future perfect

The future perfect in Spanish expresses that someone will have preferred something. For example: ¿Por qué habrán preferido la ensalada?

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Habré preferido	I will have preferred
Tú	Habrás preferido	You will have preferred
Él / Ella Usted	Habrá preferido	He/She will have preferred You (formal) will have preferred
Nosotros	Habremos preferido	We will have preferred
Vosotros	Habréis preferido	You will have preferred
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Habrán preferido	They will have preferred You (plural) will have preferred

Conditional perfect

In Spanish, the conditional perfect tense of preferir is used to say someone would have preferred something. For instance: Habría preferido que me dijeras.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Habría preferido	I would have preferred
Tú	Habrías preferido	You would have preferred
Él / Ella Usted	Habría preferido	He/She would have preferred You (formal) would have preferred
Nosotros	Habríamos preferido	We would have preferred
Vosotros	Habríais preferido	You would have preferred
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Habrían preferido	They would have preferred You (plural) would have preferred

Progressive tenses

The progressive tenses express that someone is doing something at the moment of speaking. However, when it comes to the verb preferir, we must use the present tense to talk about what someone currently prefers.

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Preferir Subjunctive Conjugations

The subjunctive mood in Spanish allows people to discuss wishes, requests, advice, expectations, or doubts. They also talk about hypothetical situations. The conjugation charts below teach us how to conjugate preferir to the subjunctive tenses we use in modern Spanish.

Present subjunctive

Preferir subjunctive conjugation has an E to IE change for all subjects except ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’. Instead, these two subject pronouns have an E to I change. We use these forms to wish or suggest that someone prefers something.

For example: Espero que mis amigos prefieran no ir.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Prefiera	I prefer
Tú	Prefieras	You prefer
Él / Ella Usted	Prefiera	He/She prefers You (formal) prefer
Nosotros	Prefiramos	We prefer
Vosotros	Prefiráis	You prefer
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Prefieran	They prefer You (plural) prefer

Present perfect subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive of haber + preferido to conjugate the present perfect subjunctive of this verb. With these forms, preferir conveys uncertainty or expectations about what a person has already preferred. Espero que hayas preferido decir la verdad.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Haya preferido	I have preferred
Tú	Hayas preferido	You have preferred
Él / Ella Usted	Haya preferido	He/She has preferred You (formal) have preferred
Nosotros	Hayamos preferido	We have preferred
Vosotros	Hayáis preferido	You have preferred
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Hayan preferido	They have preferred You (plural) have preferred

Imperfect subjunctive

Conjugate preferir to the imperfect subjunctive to talk about past suggestions, requests, and wishes someone had about a person’s preferences. For example: Me encantaría que prefirieras venir conmigo.

Depending on the type of Spanish (Castilian vs Latin American) you use, the imperfect subjunctive tense has two conjugation models:

Latin American Spanish version

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Prefiriera	I preferred
Tú	Prefirieras	You preferred
Él / Ella Usted	Prefiriera	He/She preferred You (formal) preferred
Nosotros	Prefiriéramos	We preferred
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Prefirieran	They preferred You (plural) preferred

Note: Vosotros is not used in Latin American Spanish. Therefore, this pronoun and its conjugation have been excluded from the preferir conjugation chart above.

Castilian Spanish version

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Prefiriese	I preferred
Tú	Prefirieses	You preferred
Él / Ella Usted	Prefiriese	He/She preferred You (formal) preferred
Nosotros	Prefiriésemos	We preferred
Vosotros	Prefirieseis	You preferred
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Prefiriesen	They preferred You (plural) preferred

Past perfect subjunctive

Prefirir conjugated to the past perfect subjunctive allows you to say that someone would have preferred something if a past condition was met. This tense can also express regret for having preferred something.

For example: Creéme, hubiera preferido estar contigo.

Person	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	Hubiera preferido	I had preferred
Tú	Hubieras preferido	You had preferred
Él / Ella Usted	Hubiera preferido	He/She had preferred You (formal) had preferred
Nosotros	Hubiéramos preferido	We had preferred
Vosotros	Hubierais preferido	You had preferred
Ellos / Ellas Ustedes	Hubieran preferido	They had preferred You (plural) had preferred

Preferir Imperative Conjugations

The Spanish imperative mood is used to order people to do or not do something. Because we cannot command people to prefer something, these preferir conjugations are rarely used in Spanish. Therefore, they’ve been omitted from this guide. However, you can discover how to form the imperative conjugations of preferir if you absolutely need them.

Meanings of Preferir & Examples

Now that you have learned how to conjugate preferir, it’s time for us to check how to use this verb correctly. Similar to English, in Spanish, this verb is used to talk about preferences.

Use determiners and nouns to refer to things or objects people prefer. Or, use an infinitive verb if you’re talking about activities. Check these examples:

La verdad, preferimos no ir.
To be honest, we prefer not to go.

Sabía que preferirías la blusa morada.
I knew you would prefer the purple blouse.

Mis papás preferían que nosotros estudiáramos.
My parents used to prefer that we studied.

Download Preferir Conjugation Charts & Uses Cheat sheet

Preferir is an important and very common Spanish -IR verb in daily conversations. It also has stem changes in numerous tenses. You can download a copy of the cheat sheet PDF which contains all the preferir conjugation charts as well as examples of how to use this verb in your conversations.

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Practice Quiz: Preferir Conjugation

Congratulations, you can now conjugate the verb preferir in Spanish. The next step is to take the preferir conjugation practice quiz to test your skills and practice this stem-changing IR verb.

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Overview of Preferir