Preferir is the workhorse verb for stating preferences — and it is a double-stem-changer that quietly previews every irregularity you will meet in the -ir stem-changing family (sentir, mentir, divertir, hervir, advertir). In the present indicative the stressed e of the stem becomes ie (prefiero), exactly like cerrar and pensar. But unlike -ar and -er stem-changers, -ir verbs keep changing in places where -ar and -er don't: the e shifts to i in the third-person preterite (prefirió, prefirieron), in the gerund (prefiriendo), and in two persons of the present subjunctive (prefiramos, prefiráis). Learn the two-change pattern on preferir and the rest of the family becomes free.
Non-finite forms
| Form | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitivo | preferir | to prefer |
| Infinitivo compuesto | haber preferido | to have preferred |
| Gerundio | prefiriendo | preferring |
| Gerundio compuesto | habiendo preferido | having preferred |
| Participio | preferido | preferred |
The gerund prefiriendo already shows the second stem change (e > i). The participle preferido is fully regular — which is why every compound tense in this verb is well-behaved.
Indicative — simple tenses
Presente
The stressed e of the stem becomes ie — except in nosotros and vosotros, where the stress lands on the ending and the e stays put.
| yo | tú | él/ella/usted | nosotros | vosotros | ellos/ellas/ustedes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prefiero | prefieres | prefiere | preferimos | preferís | prefieren |
Prefiero el café solo, sin azúcar y sin leche.
I prefer my coffee black, no sugar and no milk.
¿Preferís quedaros en casa o salimos a tomar algo?
Do you (all) prefer to stay in or shall we go out for a drink?
Mi madre prefiere las películas antiguas, las nuevas no le dicen nada.
My mum prefers old films — the new ones do nothing for her.
Pretérito perfecto simple
This is where the second stem change appears. In the third person — singular and plural — the stem e shifts to i: prefirió, prefirieron. Every other person is regular. This third-person i is the same pattern you see in durmió, sintió, pidió, murió — a defining feature of -ir stem-changers.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| preferí | preferiste | prefirió | preferimos | preferisteis | prefirieron |
Al final prefirió quedarse en casa antes que aguantar la lluvia.
In the end he preferred to stay in rather than put up with the rain.
Los invitados prefirieron el vino tinto al blanco, así que abrí otra botella.
The guests preferred the red wine to the white, so I opened another bottle.
Pretérito imperfecto
Perfectly regular — no stem change at all in the imperfect of -ir verbs.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prefería | preferías | prefería | preferíamos | preferíais | preferían |
De niño siempre prefería jugar fuera, incluso con frío.
As a kid I always preferred to play outside, even when it was cold.
Futuro simple
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| preferiré | preferirás | preferirá | preferiremos | preferiréis | preferirán |
Seguramente preferiré ir andando, está aquí al lado.
I'll probably prefer to walk — it's right round the corner.
Condicional
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| preferiría | preferirías | preferiría | preferiríamos | preferiríais | preferirían |
The conditional is the form you hear in polite suggestions: yo preferiría… (I'd rather…).
Yo preferiría no hablar de eso ahora, si no te importa.
I'd rather not talk about that now, if you don't mind.
Indicative — compound tenses
All compound tenses pair haber with the regular participle preferido.
Pretérito perfecto compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| he preferido | has preferido | ha preferido | hemos preferido | habéis preferido | han preferido |
Esta vez he preferido no decir nada, no merecía la pena discutir.
This time I've preferred to say nothing — it wasn't worth arguing.
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| había preferido | habías preferido | había preferido | habíamos preferido | habíais preferido | habían preferido |
Hasta entonces siempre había preferido viajar solo, pero aquel verano cambió todo.
Until then he had always preferred to travel alone, but that summer changed everything.
Futuro compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habré preferido | habrás preferido | habrá preferido | habremos preferido | habréis preferido | habrán preferido |
Si no contestan, habrán preferido no venir.
If they don't reply, they'll have preferred not to come.
Condicional compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habría preferido | habrías preferido | habría preferido | habríamos preferido | habríais preferido | habrían preferido |
Habría preferido que me lo dijeras antes, no después.
I would have preferred you to tell me beforehand, not afterwards.
Subjunctive — simple tenses
Presente de subjuntivo
The present subjunctive shows both stem changes at once. e > ie runs in the same four persons as the indicative; e > i appears in nosotros and vosotros, where the indicative kept its e. The result is that no person of the present subjunctive looks like the bare stem prefer-.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prefiera | prefieras | prefiera | prefiramos | prefiráis | prefieran |
Prefiero que vengas tú a casa, así no tengo que coger el coche.
I'd rather you came to my place, so I don't have to take the car.
No creo que prefieran el menú vegetariano, pero pregúntales por si acaso.
I don't think they'll prefer the vegetarian menu, but ask them just in case.
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra / -se)
The imperfect subjunctive is built from the third-person plural of the preterite (prefirieron) minus -ron, so the e > i shift is automatically baked in. Both endings are interchangeable; -ra is far more common in spoken Spain.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | prefiriera | prefirieras | prefiriera | prefiriéramos | prefirierais | prefirieran |
| -se | prefiriese | prefirieses | prefiriese | prefiriésemos | prefirieseis | prefiriesen |
Me sorprendió que prefiriera el cine antes que la cena.
It surprised me that he'd prefer the cinema to dinner.
Subjunctive — compound tenses
Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| haya preferido | hayas preferido | haya preferido | hayamos preferido | hayáis preferido | hayan preferido |
Es raro que haya preferido el tren al avión con la prisa que tenía.
It's odd that he's preferred the train over the plane, given the rush he was in.
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | hubiera preferido | hubieras preferido | hubiera preferido | hubiéramos preferido | hubierais preferido | hubieran preferido |
| -se | hubiese preferido | hubieses preferido | hubiese preferido | hubiésemos preferido | hubieseis preferido | hubiesen preferido |
Si lo hubiera sabido, habría preferido que no me invitaras.
If I'd known, I'd have preferred you not to invite me.
Imperative
The peninsular vosotros affirmative preferid is mandatory in Spain. The negative imperative is the present subjunctive, so the double stem change reappears in the nosotros and vosotros negative forms.
| Form | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | prefiere | no prefieras |
| usted | prefiera | no prefiera |
| nosotros | prefiramos | no prefiramos |
| vosotros | preferid | no prefiráis |
| ustedes | prefieran | no prefieran |
The affirmative imperative of preferir is rare in real life — you do not normally order someone to prefer something. The negative form turns up more often in the sense don't go for…
No prefieras siempre lo barato, a veces vale la pena pagar más.
Don't always go for the cheap option — sometimes it's worth paying more.
Preferir que + subjunctive
Whenever you state a preference about someone else's action, the second verb goes into the subjunctive — the same logic that triggers the subjunctive after querer que and esperar que. You are not describing a fact; you are describing what you'd like to be the case.
Prefiero que conduzcas tú, llevo todo el día con dolor de cabeza.
I'd rather you drove — I've had a headache all day.
Preferiríamos que no fumarais dentro del piso, gracias.
We'd prefer you (all) didn't smoke inside the flat, thanks.
When the subject of the preference and the action are the same person, no que is needed and the second verb stays in the infinitive: Prefiero quedarme en casa (I'd rather stay in).
High-frequency collocations from peninsular Spain
| Phrase | Translation |
|---|---|
| preferir X a Y | to prefer X to Y |
| preferir + infinitivo | to prefer to (do something) |
| preferir que + subjuntivo | to prefer that someone (do something) |
| yo preferiría… (formal/polite) | I'd rather… |
| prefiero no… | I'd rather not… |
| mil veces prefiero… | I'd a thousand times rather… (informal, emphatic) |
| prefiero pensar que… | I'd rather think that… (softening) |
| como prefieras | whatever you'd rather / suit yourself |
Mil veces prefiero quedarme en casa antes que aguantar a tu primo.
I'd a thousand times rather stay home than put up with your cousin.
Como prefieras: si quieres pizza, pizza; si quieres sushi, sushi.
Whatever you'd rather — if you want pizza, pizza; if you want sushi, sushi.
The classic English-speaker error
English speakers reliably miss the second stem change. They get prefiero right because e > ie is drilled early, but then they produce preferió (no i) in the preterite and prefiriendo gets replaced by an incorrect preferiendo. Both are wrong. The third-person preterite must show the i: prefirió, prefirieron. The gerund must show it too: prefiriendo. The same logic powers the present subjunctive forms prefiramos and prefiráis, where English speakers tend to write preferamos / preferáis by analogy with the indicative.
A second error: using the indicative after preferir que. Prefiero que vienes feels right to an English speaker because prefer that you come uses an indicative-looking form in English. In Spanish, preferir que is a desiderative verb — it always triggers the subjunctive. Say Prefiero que vengas.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ayer preferió no salir y se quedó en casa.
The third-person singular preterite needs the i-shift — it's prefirió, not preferió.
✅ Ayer prefirió no salir y se quedó en casa.
Yesterday he preferred not to go out and stayed home.
❌ Estaba preferiendo el silencio antes de que llegaran.
The gerund of preferir is prefiriendo, with i, never preferiendo.
✅ Estaba prefiriendo el silencio antes de que llegaran.
I was preferring the silence before they arrived.
❌ Prefiero que vienes a mi casa esta noche.
Preferir que triggers the subjunctive — it's vengas, not vienes.
✅ Prefiero que vengas a mi casa esta noche.
I'd rather you came to my place tonight.
❌ Yo prefero el café solo.
✅ Yo prefiero el café solo.
I prefer my coffee black.
Key Takeaways
- Preferir has two stem changes: e > ie in the stressed present forms; e > i in the third-person preterite (prefirió, prefirieron), the gerund (prefiriendo), and the nosotros / vosotros of the present subjunctive (prefiramos, prefiráis).
- The imperfect subjunctive (prefiriera, prefiriese) inherits the i from the third-person preterite.
- Preferir que always triggers the subjunctive: Prefiero que vengas. With a same-subject infinitive, no que: Prefiero venir.
- The peninsular vosotros affirmative is preferid; the negative is no prefiráis.
- The same double-change pattern applies to sentir, mentir, divertir, advertir, hervir — learn it once, use it everywhere.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Cambio vocálico: e>ie (pensar, querer, preferir)A2 — The most common stem-change pattern in Spanish: stressed e becomes ie in the 'boot' forms — yo, tú, él, ellos — while nosotros and vosotros keep the simple e.
- Cambios vocálicos en la raízA2 — The four stem-change patterns in Spanish verbs — e→ie, o→ue, e→i, u→ue — the 'boot' shape they make, and why vosotros sits outside the boot.
- Pretérito: cambio e>i en 3ª persona (-ir)B1 — The e→i stem change that surfaces only in the third-person preterite of certain -ir verbs: pidió, sintió, prefirió, sirvieron. The rest of the paradigm stays regular — yo pedí, tú pediste, but él pidió.
- Disparadores: deseos y voluntadB1 — Verbs of wishing, hoping, preferring and needing — querer que, esperar que, desear que, preferir que, necesitar que — and the cardinal same-subject restriction that swaps que + subjunctive for the bare infinitive.
- Imperativo afirmativo de vosotros: ¡hablad!A2 — The peninsular affirmative vosotros command — replace the -r of the infinitive with -d, drop the -d before reflexives, and never substitute the infinitive.