The verbs querer and preferir , will enable you to express the things you want or prefer to do. In some examples in the previous lessons, you have already seen the verb querer used with things that you want, like a new car. In this lesson, you will continue to use querer in that way and also learn another use for it and preferir—with an infinitive. When you follow either verb with an infinitive, you express what you want or prefer to do. Below, you will see the conjugations of both verbs; as you will note, both verbs are stem changing—from e to ie. Just as you learned with other stem changing verbs, the verb forms for nosotros and vosotros do not change, but all the other forms do.
| querer – to want (tiempo presente) | ||||||||||||
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| preferir – to prefer (tiempo presente) | ||||||||||||
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| querer/preferir + | thing/object |
|---|---|
 Paco quiere |
un coche nuevo. |
| ¿Qué quiere Manolo para su cumpleaños? |
|
| Quiere |
el nuevo disco de Shakira y una chaqueta de cuero. |
| ¿Usted prefiere café o té? |
|
| Prefiero |
té con limón. |
| ¿Emilia prefiere salsa o tango? |
|
| Ella prefiere |
salsa. |
| Ellos prefieren |
películas románticas. |
| Nosotros queremos |
una casa cerca de la playa. |
Foto: John M CC BY-SA 2.0
