Breakdown of Ana prefere peixe, mas a filha dela gosta mais de frango.
Questions & Answers about Ana prefere peixe, mas a filha dela gosta mais de frango.
Prefere comes from the verb preferir, which means to prefer.
In this sentence:
- Ana prefere peixe = Ana prefers fish
Preferir is an -ir verb, and prefere is the third person singular form in the present tense, used for ele/ela/você.
A quick mini-conjugation:
- eu prefiro
- você/ele/ela prefere
- nós preferimos
- vocês/eles/elas preferem
So Ana prefere is used because Ana is she.
In Portuguese, when talking about food in a general sense, it is very common to use the noun without an article.
So:
- Ana prefere peixe = Ana prefers fish
- gosta mais de frango = likes chicken more / likes chicken better
This sounds natural when you mean the food generally, not a specific fish or a specific chicken dish.
You could sometimes hear articles in other contexts, but in a basic statement of preference, leaving them out is very normal.