Siempre prefiero calcetines de algodón cuando camino muchos kilómetros.

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Breakdown of Siempre prefiero calcetines de algodón cuando camino muchos kilómetros.

• caminar: to walk
• de: of
• cuando: when

Questions & Answers about Siempre prefiero calcetines de algodón cuando camino muchos kilómetros.

Why is the subject pronoun yo left out before prefiero?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are optional because the verb ending already indicates the subject. Here, prefiero ends in -o, marking the first person singular (“I”). You can include yo for emphasis—Yo siempre prefiero…—but it’s perfectly natural to omit it.

What does prefiero mean, and why is it spelled that way?

Prefiero is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb preferir (to prefer). It’s a stem-changing verb: the e in the stem changes to ie in all forms except nosotros/as and vosotros/as. So you get prefi- + ero = prefiero.

Why is de used in calcetines de algodón instead of another preposition?

In Spanish, de + [material] indicates what something is made of. Calcetines de algodón literally means “socks made of cotton.” Using en (in) here would sound odd or imply something else (e.g., calcetines en algodón isn’t used to express material).

Why is algodón accented on the ó?