Prefiero escuchar música para estudiar mejor.

I prefer to listen to music to study better.

Breakdown of Prefiero escuchar música para estudiar mejor.

• yo: I
• la música: the music
• para: to
• estudiar: to study
• escuchar: to listen
• mejor: better
• preferir: to prefer

Questions & Answers about Prefiero escuchar música para estudiar mejor.

Why do we say Prefiero instead of Me prefiero?

In Spanish, preferir (to prefer) is a transitive verb used directly with the thing being preferred. The basic first-person present tense form is prefiero (I prefer). The reflexive form (such as me prefiero) doesn’t work here because you’re not preferring yourself; you’re preferring to do something (e.g., “escuchar música”). Hence, Prefiero escuchar música is the correct structure.

Why is it escuchar música and not oír música?

The verb escuchar has a more deliberate sense of listening actively, while oír is more passive—simply hearing something. Since the sentence suggests a choice to listen in order to study better (implying active listening), escuchar is more appropriate than oír.

Why do we use para instead of por in this sentence?

In Spanish, para is used to express the purpose or goal of an action. Here, the goal is to study better, so para is correct. Por often indicates cause, time duration, exchange, or other concepts. In this sentence, we want to convey “for the purpose of studying better,” which means para.

Is it common to leave out an article before música?

Yes. In Spanish, when you talk about general concepts or things in a broad sense (like music in general, not specific music), you typically omit the article. So saying escuchar música is standard when you mean “listening to music” in a general sense.

Why is it para estudiar mejor instead of para estudiar más mejor?

Mejor already means “better.” Spanish doesn’t use más mejor (“more better”), as it’s considered incorrect and redundant. The comparative form of bien in this context is simply mejor. Hence, estudiar mejor directly translates to “to study better.”