Eu prefiro comer o sanduíche em casa.

I prefer to eat the sandwich at home.

Breakdown of Eu prefiro comer o sanduíche em casa.

• eu: I
• o: the
• comer: to eat
• em: at
• preferir: to prefer
• sanduíche: sandwich
• a casa: the home

Questions & Answers about Eu prefiro comer o sanduíche em casa.

Why do we use prefiro and not prefero?

In Portuguese, the verb preferir is conjugated differently from many English learners’ expectations. In the present tense (eu form), it becomes prefiro, not prefero. This is due to how the stem changes with -ir verbs like sugerir (eu sugiro), corrigir (eu corrijo), or preferir (eu prefiro).

Why is the definite article o used before sanduíche instead of um or leaving it out?

Portuguese often uses the definite article o or a with nouns more frequently than English uses "the." Saying o sanduíche suggests a specific or known sandwich. If you said um sanduíche, it would mean "a sandwich" in a more general sense.

Can I say em minha casa instead of em casa?

Yes. Em casa typically means "at (your) home" without having to specify whose home it is. If you want to emphasize that it’s your home or someone else’s, you can say na minha casa ("in my house") or na casa dele/dela ("in his/her house"), but em casa is perfectly fine for "at home."

Is it necessary to say Eu prefiro comer instead of just Prefiro comer?

No. Portuguese allows you to drop the subject pronoun eu if the context makes it clear. Saying Prefiro comer o sanduíche em casa is completely acceptable and natural. It's a matter of personal style and clarity in conversation.

Does comer always mean "to eat," or does it sometimes have different meanings in Portuguese?

Comer primarily means "to eat." While it can have some slang or idiomatic uses in certain contexts, in most day-to-day situations—including this sentence about the sandwich—it simply means "to eat."