En realidad prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca y no en casa.

I actually prefer to study in the library and not at home.

Breakdown of En realidad prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca y no en casa.

• yo: I
• en: at
• en: in
• estudiar: to study
• y: and
• la biblioteca: the library
• la casa: the home
• preferir: to prefer
• no: not
• en realidad: in reality

Questions & Answers about En realidad prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca y no en casa.

Why does the sentence use en realidad? Could I also say realmente or de hecho?

All three are possible, but they’re not identical in feel.

• en realidad ≈ actually / in reality.
  Used to correct or contrast with what someone might expect:

  • En realidad prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca…
    = Actually, I prefer to study in the library… (maybe people assumed you liked home better).

• realmente ≈ really / truly / genuinely.
  More about intensity than contrast:

  • Realmente prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca.
    = I really do prefer studying in the library.

• de hecho ≈ in fact / as a matter of fact.
  Often introduces a supporting fact or a slightly stronger correction:

  • De hecho, prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca, no en casa.
    = In fact, I prefer to study in the library, not at home.

In your sentence, en realidad sounds natural and slightly contrastive: you’re clarifying how things actually are, maybe against someone’s assumption. Realmente would put more emphasis on the strength of your preference rather than on contrast with expectations.

Does en realidad have to go at the beginning of the sentence, or can I move it?

You can move en realidad, but some positions sound more natural than others.

Most natural:

• En realidad, prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca y no en casa.
• Prefiero, en realidad, estudiar en la biblioteca y no en casa. (more “inserted”, a bit more formal/literary)

Less natural or different in nuance:

• Prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca y no en casa, en realidad.
  This is possible, but it feels like an afterthought: “…not at home, actually.”

So it doesn’t have to be at the beginning, but initial position (En realidad, …) is the most typical and neutral for this kind of “actually”.

Why is there no yo before prefiero? Is yo prefiero wrong?

Spanish usually drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Prefiero estudiar…
  The ending -o tells us it’s yo (I).

You only add yo for emphasis or contrast:

• Yo prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca (y tú prefieres en casa).
  = I prefer to study in the library (and you prefer at home).

So:

• Prefiero estudiar… → neutral, most common.
• Yo prefiero estudiar… → “I prefer… (not someone else / in contrast to others)”.

Both are correct; the version without yo is just more natural when there’s no special emphasis.

What tense and person is prefiero, and how is preferir conjugated?

Prefiero is:

• verb: preferir (to prefer)
• tense: present indicative
• person/number: 1st person singular (I prefer)

Preferir is a stem‑changing verb (e → ie) in most present forms:

• yo prefiero
• tú prefieres
• él / ella / usted prefiere
• nosotros / nosotras preferimos (no change)
• vosotros / vosotras preferís (no change; used in Spain)
• ellos / ellas / ustedes prefieren

So prefiero = I prefer (right now / generally).

Why is it prefiero estudiar with an infinitive (estudiar) and not a conjugated verb?

In Spanish, when you say you prefer to do something, you generally use:

preferir + infinitive

• Prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca.
  = I prefer to study in the library.

This is similar to English prefer + to + verb.

If you change the subject of the action, then you normally use a clause with que and the subjunctive:

• Prefiero que estudies en la biblioteca.
  = I prefer that you study in the library.

In your sentence the subject is the same (I prefer to study), so infinitive (estudiar) is correct and standard: prefiero estudiar.

Why do we say en la biblioteca but en casa without la? Why not en la casa?

Two different things are happening:

1. la biblioteca

   • biblioteca is a regular noun for a specific place/building.
   • You normally use an article: la biblioteca = the library.
   • en la biblioteca = in/at the library.

2. casa in en casa

   • en casa is a kind of fixed expression meaning at home.
   • It usually implies your own home and drops both the article and the possessive:
     • Estoy en casa. = I’m at home.
     • Ceno en casa. = I eat dinner at home.

You can say en la casa, but it means in the house (a particular house as a building), not the idiomatic at home. For example:

• Hay mucha gente en la casa.
  = There are many people in the house. (talking about that specific building)

So:

• en la biblioteca → in/at the library (normal noun + article)
• en casa → at home (fixed idiomatic expression, no article)

What’s the difference between en casa, en la casa, and a casa?

They express different ideas:

1. en casa = at home (location, normal choice)

   • Estudio en casa. = I study at home.
   • Usually means at my home (or the speaker’s home) unless context says otherwise.

2. en la casa = in the house (inside a particular house)

   • Hay ruido en la casa de al lado.
     = There’s noise in the house next door.
   • Focus on the building itself, not the idea of “home”.

3. a casa = home with movement (to home)

   • Voy a casa. = I’m going home.
   • No article, normally means to my home.
   • a la casa would be to the house (a specific house, not the generic idea of home).

In your sentence, you’re talking about the place where you study (state, not movement), so en casa is the right form.

Why is it en la biblioteca and not a la biblioteca? What’s the difference between en and a here?

en and a express two different relationships:

• en = in / at (location, where something happens)
• a = to (direction or movement towards somewhere)

Your sentence talks about where you study, not about going there:

• prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca
  = I prefer to study in/at the library (location).

If you wanted to talk about the movement, you’d use a:

• Prefiero ir a la biblioteca para estudiar.
  = I prefer to go to the library to study.

So:

• en la biblioteca → where you are while studying.
• a la biblioteca → where you go.

Why does the sentence use y no en casa instead of pero no en casa? Is there a difference?

Both are possible, with a slight nuance:

• y no en casa

  • Literally: and not at home.
  • Presents two options and clearly rejects the second one.
  • Feels very direct and neutral: X and not Y.

• pero no en casa

  • Literally: but not at home.
  • Emphasizes contrast or opposition a bit more.
  • Can sound a little more “corrective” or adversative.

Compare:

• Prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca y no en casa.
  → I choose the library rather than home; just a clear preference.

• Prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca, pero no en casa.
  → Slightly stronger contrast: “I do like the library, but definitely not home.”

In everyday speech, y no is very common in this kind of “I’d rather X, not Y” structure.

Could I say En realidad prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca que en casa? Is that correct, and is it different from y no en casa?

Yes, it’s correct, and it’s very natural:

• En realidad prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca que en casa.

There are a few common ways to compare with preferir:

1. preferir X a Y

   • Prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca a estudiar en casa.
   • Slightly more formal/textbook.

2. preferir X que Y
   (especially in spoken Spanish; some grammar books prefer a, but que is very common)

   • Prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca que en casa.

3. preferir X antes que Y

   • Prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca antes que en casa.
     = I’d rather study in the library than at home.

Difference from y no en casa:

• y no en casa focuses on choosing one and explicitly rejecting the other (and not at home).
• que en casa / a estudiar en casa / antes que en casa is more like rather than at home — a straightforward comparison.

In practice, all of these are fine ways to express the same preference.

Is there any Spain‑specific aspect in this sentence? And what about biblioteca vs librería?

The sentence En realidad prefiero estudiar en la biblioteca y no en casa is perfectly natural in Spain and in Latin America; nothing in it is region‑specific.

What is worth noticing for English speakers is the vocabulary:

• biblioteca = library (place where you read or borrow books)
• librería = bookshop / bookstore (place where you buy books)

That’s a common false friend.
To say I prefer to study in the library, you must use biblioteca, never librería.

How is the sentence pronounced, and where does the stress fall in key words like realidad, prefiero, biblioteca, and casa?

Stress pattern (stressed syllables in CAPS):

• en re-a-li-DAD
  IPA (approx.): [en re.a.liˈðað]

  • Stress on the last syllable -dad.
  • The d between vowels is soft, like a very light th in this in many accents.

• pre-FIE-ro
  IPA: [pɾeˈfjɛɾo] or [pɾeˈfjeɾo]

  • Stress on FIE.
  • The ie is a diphthong (one syllable).

• bi-blio-TE-ca
  IPA: [bi.βljoˈte.ka]

  • Stress on TE.
  • blio is one syllable: b-lio.

• CA-sa
  IPA: [ˈka.sa]

  • Stress on CA.

Sentence rhythm:

En re-a-li-DAD | pre-FIE-ro es-tu-DI-ar | en la bi-blio-TE-ca | y NO en CA-sa.

In Spain, the main special feature would be the typical Spanish r and rr, but this sentence doesn’t contain any tricky z or soft c sounds, so pronunciation is relatively straightforward.