Yo prefiero los calamares a la plancha con limón.

I

Breakdown of Yo prefiero los calamares a la plancha con limón.

• con: with
• preferir: to prefer
• el limón: the lemon

Questions & Answers about Yo prefiero los calamares a la plancha con limón.

Why is yo included here? I thought Spanish often drops subject pronouns.

That’s right: Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

• (Yo) prefiero = I prefer

So Yo prefiero los calamares... and Prefiero los calamares... are both correct.

Including yo can:

• add emphasis,
• create contrast,
• make the sentence clearer in context.

For example:

• Yo prefiero los calamares, pero ella prefiere el pescado.

So here, yo is optional unless the speaker wants emphasis.

Why is it prefiero and not prefero?

Because preferir is a stem-changing verb.

In the yo form of the present tense:

• preferir → prefiero

The e in the stem changes to ie in most present-tense forms:

• yo prefiero
• tú prefieres
• él/ella prefiere
• nosotros preferimos
• vosotros preferís
• ellos prefieren

Notice that nosotros and vosotros do not have the stem change.

This is a very common pattern in Spanish.