Preferir (To Prefer) — Full Conjugation

Preferir means to prefer, and like sentir, servir, seguir, vestir, mentir, and repetir, it belongs to a small family of -ir verbs that undergo an e → i stem change in two specific places: the 1sg present indicative and the whole present subjunctive. Say prefiro (not prefero), prefira (not prefera), and the rest of the paradigm runs on the regular prefer- stem.

Beyond the conjugation, the thing English speakers most often get wrong is the preposition that comes after preferir. In English we prefer A over B or A to B; in Portuguese we prefer A a B — a bare a, no contraction, no do que. Prefiro café a chá, not prefiro café do que chá.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Only the 1sg shifts. Every other person keeps the regular e of the stem.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Fully regular on the prefer- stem.

The imperfect preferia is heavily used as a softer, more polite version of prefiro: preferia um chá, se não te importas = I'd prefer a tea, if you don't mind.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Regular. Notice that preferimos is identical to the present; context resolves the ambiguity.

Pluperfect indicative, simple — pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples

Pluperfect indicative, compound — pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional (futuro do pretérito)

In speech, the imperfect preferia tends to replace the conditional preferiria — it is shorter and just as polite.

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

The e → i shift is inherited from the 1sg present and spreads across every person of the subjunctive.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Back to the regular stem.

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

Present perfect subjunctive — pretérito perfeito do conjuntivo

Pluperfect subjunctive — pretérito mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo

Future perfect subjunctive — futuro perfeito do conjuntivo

Imperative — imperativo

Affirmative:

Negative:

The imperative of preferir is uncommon — you do not usually command someone to prefer something — but it appears in formal texts: prefira a via rápida = choose the fast lane.

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

How to use preferir — the three constructions

1. Preferir + noun / infinitive

When you just want to say what you prefer, the thing preferred goes straight after the verb, no preposition. For an infinitive, no de or a is needed either.

2. Preferir A a B — comparing two options

When you want to compare — I prefer A over B — the preposition is a plain a, nothing more. This is the point on which English speakers most often stumble, because English "than" translates as do que in most other comparisons (maior do que = bigger than), but preferir is one of the few verbs that takes a instead.

Note that a contracts with the definite article: a + a montanha = à montanha; a + o resort = ao resort.

3. Preferir que + subjunctive

When you prefer that someone else do something, use que + present subjunctive.

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Preferir is a third-conjugation (-ir) verb with an e → i stem change in the 1sg present (prefiro) and throughout the present subjunctive (prefira, prefiras, prefira, prefiramos, prefiram).
• The 1sg imperative (not used) and the tu imperative both come from the regular present 3sg: prefere.
• Use preferir A a B to compare two options. The a contracts with articles: ao, à, aos, às.
• Never use do que or que after preferir. Always a.
• Preferir + infinitive takes no preposition: prefiro ficar em casa, not prefiro de ficar.
• Preferir que + subjunctive is the pattern when the subject of the preferred action differs from the subject of the preferring.
• The imperfect preferia is a common softening device in spoken EP — preferia um chá is gentler than prefiro um chá.