preferí

Preferí is the first‑person singular preterite form of the Spanish verb preferir, which means “to prefer” or “to favor.” In this conjugation, the speaker indicates a past, completed choice or inclination, as in “Yo preferí quedarme en casa” (“I preferred to stay at home”). The verb belongs to the irregular –ir class, showing a stem‑vowel change (e → i) in the present tense (prefiero, prefieres, etc.) and a shift to a “-e‑” stem in the preterite (preferí, preferiste, prefirió). The preterite endings follow the regular pattern for -ir verbs: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.

Etymologically, preferir derives from the Latin preferre, a compound of præ‑ (“before”) and ferre (“to bring”). It entered Spanish during the Old Spanish period, retaining the sense of placing one thing ahead of another. The form preferí first appears in written Spanish texts of the 13th‑14th centuries, reflecting the development of the preterite paradigm.

In contemporary usage, preferí is employed to recount personal decisions, comparisons, or tastes that occurred at a definite point in the past. It can appear with infinitives (preferí comer), with nouns (preferí el café), or with subordinate clauses (preferí que él viniera). When combined with the conditional mood, it forms part of hypothetical constructions such as “Si hubiera sabido, habría preferido…”. The form is also used in literary and colloquial speech to emphasize a deliberate past preference.