Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Prefiro o chá; ela prefere o café.

In Portuguese, the verb ending usually tells you who is doing the action. Prefiro specifically means "I prefer", so the pronoun eu (I) is optional and usually left out. However, prefere can mean "he prefers", "she prefers", or "you prefer" (formal). We use ela here to make it perfectly clear that she is the one who prefers coffee.

Why does the sentence use o chá and o café instead of just chá and café?

In English, we drop the word "the" when talking about things in a general sense, like "I prefer tea". In Portuguese, it is standard to include the definite article (o or a) when talking about general categories, concepts, or your likes and dislikes. So, "tea" in general becomes o chá.

Prefiro and prefere look slightly different in the middle. Is this normal?

Yes! Both words come from the verb preferir (to prefer). The "I" form changes the middle vowel from "e" to "i" to become prefiro. This is a common type of spelling change in Portuguese verbs for the "I" form. The "she" form keeps the normal "e" and becomes prefere.