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Conjugation Chart

“Preferir” (to prefer) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Preferir”

The Imperfect Tense of preferir is used to describe preferences or habitual actions in the past, for example: Yo prefería el chocolate sobre el helado. (I used to prefer chocolate over ice cream.)

Preferir is a regular -ir verb, so its conjugations in the Imperfect Tense follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

How to Use Preferir in the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense of preferir is used to describe preferences, likes, and dislikes in the past, often expressing habitual or ongoing actions.

To express a preference or like: For example, Yo prefería el café por las mañanas. (I used to prefer coffee in the mornings.)

To express a dislike: For example, Ella no prefería las películas de terror. (She didn’t used to like horror movies.)

To describe a habitual action: For example, De niños, preferíamos jugar al aire libre. (As children, we used to prefer playing outside.)

To express a polite request: For example, Preferiría tomar un café, por favor. (I would prefer to have a coffee, please.)

Colloquial usage: For example, ¿Preferías que te diera un puñetazo? (Did you prefer that I punched you?)

Real Life Examples of Preferir in the Imperfect Tense

Yo prefería las manzanas a las naranjas cuando era niño. (I preferred apples to oranges when I was a child.)

Ellos preferían quedarse en casa los fines de semana. (They preferred to stay home on weekends.)

Nosotros preferíamos caminar en lugar de tomar el autobús. (We preferred to walk instead of taking the bus.)

Tú preferías la pizza con champiñones, ¿verdad? (You preferred pizza with mushrooms, right?)

Ella prefería leer novelas de misterio en sus ratos libres. (She preferred to read mystery novels in her free time.)

Vosotros preferíais ir al cine los viernes por la noche. (You all preferred to go to the movies on Friday nights.)

Ustedes preferían tomar café en lugar de té por las mañanas. (You all preferred to have coffee instead of tea in the mornings.)

¿Preferías la playa o la montaña de vacaciones? (Did you prefer the beach or the mountains for vacation?)

Mis padres preferían cocinar en casa en lugar de salir a cenar. (My parents preferred to cook at home instead of going out to eat.)

Mis amigos y yo preferíamos jugar videojuegos en lugar de ver televisión. (My friends and I preferred to play video games instead of watching TV.)

¿Preferías estudiar por la mañana o por la noche? (Did you prefer to study in the morning or at night?)

Ellas preferían hacer ejercicio al aire libre en lugar de ir al gimnasio. (They preferred to exercise outdoors instead of going to the gym.)

Yo prefería la música rock a la música clásica cuando era adolescente. (I preferred rock music to classical music when I was a teenager.)

Vosotros preferíais ir de compras los sábados por la tarde. (You all preferred to go shopping on Saturday afternoons.)

Él prefería viajar en avión en lugar de en tren. (He preferred to travel by plane instead of by train.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Preferir (to prefer) in the Imperfect Tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.