Prefirieron

Prefirieron is the third-person plural preterite form of the Spanish verb preferir, meaning “they preferred” or, in contexts using ustedes, “you all preferred.” It marks a completed action in the past and is used when reporting a past preference.

Conjugation notes: Preferir is an irregular -ir verb that undergoes an e → i stem change in the preterite for most persons. The full preterite paradigm is: yo preferí, tú preferiste, él/ella/usted prefirió, nosotros preferimos, vosotros preferisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes prefirieron. In this pattern, the stem changes to prefir- in the third-person forms, while the nosotros and vosotros forms stay as preferimos and preferisteis, respectively.

Usage: Prefirieron expresses that a choice was made in the past among options. It is commonly followed by an infinitive or by a clause indicating the alternative that was foregone.

Examples:

- Ellos prefirieron quedarse en casa. (They preferred to stay at home.)

- Ustedes prefirieron estudiar, no salir. (You all preferred to study rather than go out.)

Origin: Preferir derives from Latin praeferre, meaning to carry before or to prefer. The preterite forms reflect typical Spanish irregularities in the -ir family and illustrate the e → i stem change characteristic of this verb in past tense forms other than the nosotros and vosotros.

Notes: Prefirieron is the correct past-tense form for third-person plural; it should not be confused with the present tense forms, such as prefieren (they prefer) or nosotros preferimos (we prefer).