prefería

Prefería is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb preferir, meaning to have a past preference. It is used to describe habitual or ongoing preferences in the past, or a background state in relation to other actions. For example, “Cuando era niño, prefería el helado de vainilla” expresses a habitual past preference rather than a single finished choice.

Morphology and conjugation questions: preferir is a stem-changing verb in the present, but in the imperfect it uses the regular endings with the stem “prefer-.” The forms are: yo prefería, tú preferías, él/ella/usted prefería, nosotros/nosotras preferredíamos, vosotros/vosotras preferíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes preferían. The accent on í marks the stressed syllable, but the stem remains constant across the imperfect forms. In contrast, the preterite form would be “preferí,” “preferiste,” etc., indicating a completed past action, while “preferiría” is the conditional form meaning “I would prefer.”

Usage notes: The imperfect “prefería” is commonly contrasted with the preterite “preferí” to distinguish habitual or ongoing past preference from a single past decision. It can also appear in reported speech or narratives to set a past preference context. While the verb is widely used in Spanish-speaking regions, some speakers prefer paraphrasing with phrases such as “solía preferir” or “me gustaba más” for stylistic reasons.

See also: preferir, pretérito, condicional.