How to conjugate Preferir in Spanish

Preferir in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of preferir is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “preferí”, meaning “I preferred”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

How it’s built: Ella/Él and ellas/ellos change e to i (prefirió, prefirieron); the other forms are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Preferir in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of preferir is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “prefería”, meaning “I used to prefer”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

How it’s built: Regular: stem prefer- plus the -ir endings.

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Preferir in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of preferir is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy prefiriendo”, meaning “I am preferring”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the irregular gerund prefiriendo.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Preferir in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of preferir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a preferir”, meaning “I am going to prefer”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive preferir.

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Preferir in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of preferir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “preferiré”, meaning “I will prefer”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive preferir plus the future endings.

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Preferir in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of preferir is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “preferiría”, meaning “I would prefer”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive preferir plus the conditional endings.

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Preferir in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of preferir is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he preferido”, meaning “I have preferred”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle preferido.

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Preferir in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of preferir is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había preferido”, meaning “I had preferred”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle preferido.

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Preferir in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of preferir is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré preferido”, meaning “I will have preferred”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle preferido.

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Preferir in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of preferir is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría preferido”, meaning “I would have preferred”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle preferido.

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Preferir in the Subjunctive Imperfect

The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “prefiriera”, meaning “I preferred”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, prefirieron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (prefiriéramos).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Preferir in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “prefiriere”, meaning “I will prefer”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, prefirieron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (prefiriéremos).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Preferir in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya preferido”, meaning “I have preferred”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle preferido.

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Preferir in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera preferido”, meaning “I had preferred”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle preferido.

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Preferir in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere preferido”, meaning “I will have preferred”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle preferido.

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Preferir in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no prefiera”, meaning “(to you formal) don't prefer!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no prefieras, no prefiera, no prefiramos, no prefiráis, no prefieran.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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