preferir
to preferPresentewhat is going on now
Presente
Present — what is happening now, and what happens habitually
| yo | prefieroI prefer | nosotros | preferimoswe prefer |
| tú | prefieresyou prefer | vosotros | preferísyou all prefer |
| él/ella/Ud. | prefierehe/she prefers | ellos/Uds. | prefierenthey prefer |
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect — have —ed; a past still touching now. Spain: today, this week. Latin America: mostly the indefinido instead
| yo | he preferidoI have prefered | nosotros | hemos preferidowe have prefered |
| tú | has preferidoyou have prefered | vosotros | habéis preferidoyou all have prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha preferidohe/she has prefered | ellos/Uds. | han preferidothey have prefered |
Presente de subjuntivo
Present subjunctive — after que with wishes, doubt, emotion, ojalá
| yo | prefiera(that) I prefer | nosotros | prefiramos(that) we prefer |
| tú | prefieras(that) you prefer | vosotros | prefiráis(that) you all prefer |
| él/ella/Ud. | prefiera(that) he/she prefers | ellos/Uds. | prefieran(that) they prefer |
Perfecto de subjuntivo
Present perfect subjunctive — have —ed, under doubt or emotion: no creo que haya venido
| yo | haya preferido(that) I have prefered | nosotros | hayamos preferido(that) we have prefered |
| tú | hayas preferido(that) you have prefered | vosotros | hayáis preferido(that) you all have prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya preferido(that) he/she has prefered | ellos/Uds. | hayan preferido(that) they have prefered |
Pasadowhat went on
Pretérito indefinido
Preterite — a finished past action — it started, it ended
| yo | preferíI prefered | nosotros | preferimoswe prefered |
| tú | preferisteyou prefered | vosotros | preferisteisyou all prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | prefirióhe/she prefered | ellos/Uds. | prefirieronthey prefered |
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect — used to / was —ing; background, habits, descriptions
| yo | preferíaI used to prefer | nosotros | preferíamoswe used to prefer |
| tú | preferíasyou used to prefer | vosotros | preferíaisyou all used to prefer |
| él/ella/Ud. | preferíahe/she used to prefer | ellos/Uds. | preferíanthey used to prefer |
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Past perfect — had —ed; further back than another past event
| yo | había preferidoI had prefered | nosotros | habíamos preferidowe had prefered |
| tú | habías preferidoyou had prefered | vosotros | habíais preferidoyou all had prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | había preferidohe/she had prefered | ellos/Uds. | habían preferidothey had prefered |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra)
Imperfect subjunctive — si clauses and past-tense wishes: si tuviera, quería que fuera
| yo | prefiriera(that) I prefered | nosotros | prefiriéramos(that) we prefered |
| tú | prefirieras(that) you prefered | vosotros | prefirierais(that) you all prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | prefiriera(that) he/she prefered | ellos/Uds. | prefirieran(that) they prefered |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-se)
Imperfect subjunctive — the same tense, second form; commoner in Spain and in writing
| yo | prefiriese(that) I prefered | nosotros | prefiriésemos(that) we prefered |
| tú | prefirieses(that) you prefered | vosotros | prefirieseis(that) you all prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | prefiriese(that) he/she prefered | ellos/Uds. | prefiriesen(that) they prefered |
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
Past perfect subjunctive — had —ed, hypothetically: si hubiera sabido
| yo | hubiera preferido(that) I had prefered | nosotros | hubiéramos preferido(that) we had prefered |
| tú | hubieras preferido(that) you had prefered | vosotros | hubierais preferido(that) you all had prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera preferido(that) he/she had prefered | ellos/Uds. | hubieran preferido(that) they had prefered |
Pretérito anterior
Preterite perfect — had —ed, immediately before; literary, all but extinct
| yo | hube preferidoI had prefered | nosotros | hubimos preferidowe had prefered |
| tú | hubiste preferidoyou had prefered | vosotros | hubisteis preferidoyou all had prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubo preferidohe/she had prefered | ellos/Uds. | hubieron preferidothey had prefered |
Futurowhat will or would go on
Futuro simple
Future — will — (spoken Spanish often prefers voy a + infinitivo)
| yo | preferiréI will prefer | nosotros | preferiremoswe will prefer |
| tú | preferirásyou will prefer | vosotros | preferiréisyou all will prefer |
| él/ella/Ud. | preferiráhe/she will prefer | ellos/Uds. | preferiránthey will prefer |
Condicional simple
Conditional — would —; also softens a request into politeness
| yo | preferiríaI would prefer | nosotros | preferiríamoswe would prefer |
| tú | preferiríasyou would prefer | vosotros | preferiríaisyou all would prefer |
| él/ella/Ud. | preferiríahe/she would prefer | ellos/Uds. | preferiríanthey would prefer |
Futuro perfecto
Future perfect — will have —ed; done by some future point
| yo | habré preferidoI will have prefered | nosotros | habremos preferidowe will have prefered |
| tú | habrás preferidoyou will have prefered | vosotros | habréis preferidoyou all will have prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá preferidohe/she will have prefered | ellos/Uds. | habrán preferidothey will have prefered |
Condicional perfecto
Conditional perfect — would have —ed; the road not taken
| yo | habría preferidoI would have prefered | nosotros | habríamos preferidowe would have prefered |
| tú | habrías preferidoyou would have prefered | vosotros | habríais preferidoyou all would have prefered |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría preferidohe/she would have prefered | ellos/Uds. | habrían preferidothey would have prefered |
Futuro de subjuntivo
Future subjunctive — legal and proverbial only: adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres
| yo | prefiriere(should) I prefer | nosotros | prefiriéremos(should) we prefer |
| tú | prefirieres(should) you prefer | vosotros | prefiriereis(should) you all prefer |
| él/ella/Ud. | prefiriere(should) he/she prefer | ellos/Uds. | prefirieren(should) they prefer |
Imperativotelling someone to
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative (do it) — orders and requests; there is no yo form
| yo | — | nosotros | prefiramoslet's prefer |
| tú | prefiereprefer! | vosotros | preferidprefer! |
| él/ella/Ud. | prefieraprefer! | ellos/Uds. | prefieranprefer! |
Imperativo negativo
Imperative (don't) — no + subjunctive — never the affirmative form with no in front
| yo | — | nosotros | no prefiramoslet's not prefer |
| tú | no prefierasdon't prefer | vosotros | no prefiráisdon't prefer |
| él/ella/Ud. | no prefieradon't prefer | ellos/Uds. | no prefierandon't prefer |
Red = the form breaks the regular pattern. Everything in black you could have worked out from the endings alone.