Breakdown of ¿Prefieres caminar o viajar en tren?
o
or
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
caminar
to walk
viajar
to travel
Questions & Answers about ¿Prefieres caminar o viajar en tren?
Why is it prefieres and not "preferes"?
Prefieres comes from the verb preferir (to prefer). In Spanish, some verbs have a vowel that changes when you match them to a person. Here, the second e changes to ie for the informal "you" form. This is called a stem-changing verb.
Why don't we need a word for "to" before caminar and viajar?
In English, we say "to walk" or "to travel", but in Spanish, the base dictionary forms of verbs (like caminar and viajar) already include the meaning of "to". When you combine verbs, like "prefer to walk", only the first verb (prefieres) changes to match the person. The following verbs stay in their base infinitive form.
Why do we say en tren instead of using a direct translation for "by"?
When talking about using vehicles for transportation in Spanish, you almost always use the word en (which usually means "in" or "on"). So, "by train" is en tren, "by car" is en coche, and "by bus" is en autobús.
Why is there no word for "you" in the Spanish sentence?
In Spanish, the ending of the verb tells us exactly who is doing the action. The -es ending on prefieres specifically means "you" (the informal singular "you"). You could add the word tú before the verb for emphasis, but it is usually left out because the verb ending already makes it clear.