preferir imperfect tense conjugation
Preferir (to prefer) in the imperfect tense: prefería, preferías, prefería, preferíamos, preferíais, preferían.
Pretérito imperfecto Imperfect
| yo | |
|---|---|
| tú | |
| él/ella/usted | |
| nosotros | |
| vosotros | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the imperfect tense
The imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions (“was doing”), descriptions, age and time. “Cuando era niño, vivía en Sevilla.”
How it is formed
Regular endings: -ar → aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban; -er/-ir → ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían. Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía).
Preferir is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: Preterite vs imperfect: when to use each
Preferir in a sentence
- Prefiero el café al té.I prefer coffee over tea.
- Prefirió quedarse en casa.She preferred to stay home.
Stem-changing e→ie (present) and e→i (preterite/gerund: prefiriendo).
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of preferir?
Preferir in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo prefería, tú preferías, él/ella/usted prefería, nosotros preferíamos, vosotros preferíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes preferían.
Is preferir irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense preferir takes the regular endings for its verb class, so prefería follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the Spanish imperfect tense?
The imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions (“was doing”), descriptions, age and time. “Cuando era niño, vivía en Sevilla.”
How is the imperfect tense formed?
Regular endings: -ar → aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban; -er/-ir → ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían. Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía).
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