Eu prefiro café forte de manhã.

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Breakdown of Eu prefiro café forte de manhã.

• o café: the coffee
• preferir: to prefer
• forte: strong

Questions & Answers about Eu prefiro café forte de manhã.

Why does the sentence include Eu? Can I leave it out?

Yes, you usually can.

Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is. Prefiro means I prefer, so:

• Eu prefiro café forte de manhã.
• Prefiro café forte de manhã.

Both are natural.

Using Eu can add:

• emphasis: I prefer strong coffee
• contrast: Eu prefiro café, mas ela prefere chá
• clarity in some contexts

So Eu is correct, but not always necessary.

What does prefiro mean exactly, and what verb is it from?

Prefiro is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb preferir, which means to prefer.

So:

• eu prefiro = I prefer
• você prefere = you prefer
• ele/ela prefere = he/she prefers

This verb is a little irregular because the stem changes in some forms:

• preferir
• eu prefiro
• você prefere
• nós preferimos

In this sentence, prefiro tells you the speaker is talking about a general present preference.

Why is there no article before café? Why not o café?