The preterite of preferir is used to express when you preferred something at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I preferred the blue shirt” – “Preferí la camisa azul.”

This is an e to i stem-changing verb in the preterite tense. The stem change occurs only in the third person singular and plural forms (prefirió, prefirieron), while other forms maintain the ‘e’.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Preferir (to prefer) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of preferir expresses a specific choice or preference made in the past.

To prefer/choose: Indicates a specific choice was made, for example Preferí quedarme en casa (I preferred to stay home), or Prefirieron el restaurante italiano (They preferred the Italian restaurant).

Examples

Examples of Preferir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Preferí quedarme en casa ayer. (I preferred to stay home yesterday.)

¿Por qué preferiste el azul? (Why did you prefer the blue one?)

Ella prefirió no comentar sobre el asunto. (She preferred not to comment on the matter.)

Preferimos viajar en tren. (We preferred to travel by train.)

Ellos prefirieron esperar afuera. (They preferred to wait outside.)

Preferí el libro a la película. (I preferred the book to the movie.)

¿Preferiste la comida italiana? (Did you prefer the Italian food?)

El cliente prefirió el modelo más económico. (The client preferred the more economical model.)

Preferimos no asistir a la reunión. (We preferred not to attend the meeting.)

Los estudiantes prefirieron estudiar en grupo. (The students preferred to study in a group.)

Preferí no decir nada en ese momento. (I preferred not to say anything at that moment.)

¿Por qué preferiste ir solo? (Why did you prefer to go alone?)

Mi hermana prefirió la universidad local. (My sister preferred the local university.)

Preferimos el restaurante nuevo. (We preferred the new restaurant.)

Ellos prefirieron pagar en efectivo. (They preferred to pay in cash.)

Conjugations with English Translations

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

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

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.