Mi hermano prefiere llevar barba en invierno.

In modern Spanish, possessives like mi, tu, su, nuestro normally replace the article, so you say mi hermano = my brother, not the my brother.

Using an article with a possessive is possible in some special structures, but not in a basic phrase like this.

Prefiere is the 3rd person singular present tense of preferir:

• yo prefiero
• tú prefieres
• él/ella/usted prefiere

So mi hermano prefiere means my brother prefers.

Also, preferir is a stem-changing verb in the present tense:
e → ie

So the stem changes:

• preferir → prefiero, prefieres, prefiere
• but preferimos, preferís do not change

That is why you get prefiere.

After preferir, Spanish usually uses an infinitive when the subject prefers doing something:

• Prefiere llevar barba = He prefers to wear a beard
• Prefiero leer = I prefer to read
• Preferimos salir temprano = We prefer to leave early

So the pattern is:

preferir + infinitive

Here, the action being preferred is llevar barba.

That is a very common question. Llevar has several meanings, including:

• to carry
• to take
• to wear

In the context of clothes, accessories, hairstyles, and sometimes facial hair, llevar often means to wear or to have in the sense of appearance:

• Lleva gafas = He wears glasses
• Lleva sombrero = He is wearing a hat
• Llevar barba = to wear / have a beard

So here llevar barba is a natural Spanish way to express having a beard.

In Spanish, when talking about certain things in a general way—especially clothing, hair, beard, moustache, glasses, etc.—the article is often omitted after verbs like llevar.

So Spanish commonly says:

• llevar barba
• llevar bigote
• llevar gafas

rather than always using una or un.

In English, we often need an article: a beard.
Spanish does not always need it in this kind of expression.

Yes. Tener barba is also correct and very common.

There is a slight difference in feel:

• tener barba = to have a beard
• llevar barba = to wear a beard

Llevar barba can sound a little more like a style or appearance choice, which fits well with prefiere.
So prefiere llevar barba sounds very natural: he prefers to wear a beard.

With seasons, Spanish often uses en + season without the article when speaking generally:

• en verano
• en otoño
• en invierno
• en primavera

So en invierno means in winter / during winter in a general sense.

You may sometimes hear en el invierno, but that usually sounds more specific, depending on context. For a general statement like this, en invierno is the most natural choice.

It breaks down like this:

• Mi hermano = subject
• prefiere = main verb
• llevar barba = infinitive phrase, the thing he prefers
• en invierno = time expression

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + infinitive phrase + time expression

That is a very common Spanish pattern.

Yes. In Spanish, the simple present tense often covers what English expresses as:

• prefers
• does prefer
• usually prefers
• sometimes even is preferring, depending on context

Here, Mi hermano prefiere llevar barba en invierno most naturally means a general preference or habit, not something happening only at this exact moment.

So it sounds like:
My brother prefers wearing a beard in winter or My brother likes to have a beard in winter.

Yes, but the original order is the most neutral and natural.

Normal order:

Mi hermano prefiere llevar barba en invierno.

You could move en invierno for emphasis:

• En invierno, mi hermano prefiere llevar barba.

This puts more focus on in winter.

Spanish word order is more flexible than English, but the original sentence is the best basic version for learners.

In standard Peninsular Spanish, prefiere is pronounced approximately:

preh-FYEH-reh

A few helpful points:

• pre- sounds like preh
• fie contains the ie stem change, sounding roughly like fyeh
• the final r in re is a soft tapped r, not a strong English r

So the whole word is roughly:

preh-FYEH-reh

In this sentence, barba means beard.

It can also refer more generally to facial hair in some contexts, but beard is the straightforward meaning here.

Useful related words:

• barba = beard
• bigote = moustache
• perilla = goatee

So llevar barba specifically means to wear/have a beard.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Here, prefiere already tells us it is he/she/you (formal), and the noun mi hermano makes it completely clear.

So Spanish naturally says:

Mi hermano prefiere...

not necessarily:

Mi hermano él prefiere...

Adding él would usually be unnecessary unless you wanted strong contrast or emphasis.