Preferir Conjugation in Portuguese

Ejemplo con el verbo preferir en portugués: Ela prefere beber caipirinha do que cerveja.

What’s up, friends? You ok? Do you prefer to study Portuguese at home or at in a classroom full of students? For either of these preferences, Rio & Learn has an option for you! Today in our Dica, we are going to look at how people use the verb preferir and it’s conjugation in Portuguese. Let’s see how we conjugate this verb in the different tenses.

Portuguese Verb Preferir Conjugation

We use the Portuguese Verb Preferir to choose our preference from different options. For example, to say that you prefer sunny days to cloudy days.

Which do you prefer: a party in a nightclub or at the beach? If you have ever seen how our parties are here on Copacabana beach, I think you might choose them. However we have many nice clubs here in Rio as well, so it’s a mater of preference for each day, right?

Before you start answering these questions and making decisions, take a look at the conjugation of the verb preferir in Portuguese.

Preferir is an irregular verb with an -IR ending. Take a look at the conjugation chart with regular endings highlighted in bold for all tenses and the irregular endings marked with an asterisk. Check it out:

Indicative

Present Past Simple Imperfect Past
Eu prefiro* Eu preferi Eu preferia
Você prefere Você preferiu Você preferia
Ele/ ela prefere Ele/ ela preferiu Ele/ ela preferia
Nós preferimos Nós preferimos Nós preferíamos
Vocês preferem Vocês preferimos Vocês preferiam
Eles/ elas preferem Eles/ elas preferiram Eles/ elas preferiam

 

Past pluperfect simple Past pluperfect composed
Eu preferira Eu tinha preferido
Você preferira Você tinha preferido
Ele/ ela preferira Ele/ ela tinha preferido
Nós preferíramos Nós tínhamos preferido
Vocês preferiram Vocês tinham preferido
Eles/ elas preferiram Eles/ elas tinham preferido

 

Simple Future Immediate Future Future of the past
Eu preferirei Eu vou preferir Eu preferiria
Você preferirá Você vai preferir Você preferiria
Ele/ ela preferirá Ele/ ela vai preferir Ele/ ela preferiria
Nós preferiremos Nós vamos preferir Nós preferiríamos
Vocês preferirão Vocês vão preferir Vocês prefeririam
Eles/ elas preferirão Eles/ elas vão preferir Eles/ elas prefeririam

 

Imperative

Affirmative Negative
Prefira você* Não prefira você*
Prefira ele/ ela* Não prefira ele/ ela*
Prefiramos nós* Não prefiramos nós*
Prefiram vocês* Não prefiram vocês*
Prefiram eles/ elas* Não prefiram eles/ elas*

 

Subjunctive

Present Imperfect Past Future
Que eu prefira* Se eu preferisse Quando eu preferir
Que você prefira* Se você preferisse Quando você preferir
Que ele/ela prefira* Se ele/ela preferisse Quando ele/ela preferir
Que nós prefiramos* Se nós preferíssemos Quando nós preferirmos
Que vocês prefiram* Se vocês preferissem Quando vocês preferirem
Que eles/elas prefiram* Se eles/elas preferissem Quando eles/elas preferirem

 

Other tenses

Personal infinitive Gerund Participle
Para preferir eu Preferindo Preferido
Para preferir você
Para preferir ele/ela
Para preferirmos nós
Para preferirem vocês
Para preferirem eles/elas

 

Examples using the Preferir conjugation in Portuguese

Let’s take a look at some examples using the Portuguese Verb Preferir:

Eu prefiro praia do que montanha.
I prefer the beach to the mountains.

Ela preferiu ficar em casa hoje.
She preferred to stay at home today.

Nós preferirão viajar de ônibus porque será mais barato.
We prefer to travel by bus because it will be cheaper.

Vocês preferiam sucos ou refrigerantes?
Would you prefer juice or soda?

Os estudantes preferem aprender Português no Brasil do que em seus países.
The students prefer learning Portuguese in Brazil rather than in their own countries.

Eu prefiro estudar com os professores para fazer o CELPE-Bras.
I prefer studying with teachers to do the CELPE-Bras exam.

What about you? Which do you prefer, beer or caipirinhas? Tell us!

Exercise for the Preferir conjugation in Portuguese

Now it’s your turn to practice what you’ve just learned. Analyse each of these sentences to put all the words in the correct order for the context. Easy, right? Let’s go then!

  1. prefiro – eu – comer sushi  – do que – comer salada.
  2. Eles – acampar – preferem – montanhas – nas
  3. tarde – acordar – preferimos – Nós.
  4. aos – outros – você – Prefira.
  5. Antes – preferia – eu – sair – prefiro – agora – casa – em – ficar.
  6. quero  – eu – que – me – prefira  – você.
  7. futuro – no – preferirão – vocês – calor – do que – frio.
  8. atrasei – Me – preferi – porque – dormir – mais.
  9. Se – dinheiro – tivesse – preferiria – viajar – Japão – para – eu.
  10. Marta – amiga – minha – preferida – é.

Well, now we know how to use the Portuguese verb preferir in Portuguese sentences. What do you think about studying in Brazil? Do you prefer to learn online? What’s the best way for you to study Portuguese?

Do you want to learn even more? Tell us your preference about our courses and start learning with a native tutor right now!

Don’t forget to subscribe at A Dica do Dia and if you prefer to to learn by watching our videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Bye, bye!
Hugs from Rio de Janeiro!

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Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
Vir Conjugation in Portuguese
Feel in Portuguese
Pedir in Portuguese
What does gelada mean?

Exercise with the Portuguese Verb Preferir: Answers

  1. Eu prefiro comer sushi do que comer salada.
  2. Eles preferem acampar nas montanhas.
  3. Nós preferimos acordar tarde. .
  4. Prefira você aos outros.
  5. Antes eu preferia sair agora prefiro ficar em casa.
  6. Eu quero que você me prefira.
  7. No futuro vocês preferirão calor do que frio.
  8. Me atrasei porque preferi dormir mais.
  9. Se tivesse dinheiro eu preferiria viajar para o Japão.
  10. Marta é minha amiga preferida.

This post is also available in: English Português (Portuguese) Español (Spanish)

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