Préférer Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of préférer — “to prefer” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for préférer, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je préfère le thé au café.” — “I prefer tea to coffee.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for préférer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Present Tense conjugation of préférer
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for préférer. préférer is spelling-changing in the present: é becomes è in the singular and third-person plural, as the table shows.
Present indicative — préférer
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | préfère |
| tu | préfères |
| il/elle | préfère |
| nous | préférons |
| vous | préférez |
| ils/elles | préfèrent |
The gerund of préférer is en préférant and the past participle is préféré. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of préférer is formed
The present tense of préférer does not follow the regular pattern, so the stem-and-endings description above is only a starting point: je → préfère, tu → préfères, il/elle → préfère, nous → préférons, vous → préférez, ils/elles → préfèrent. Learn these six forms as a set — they are the forms you will use most often, and the subjunctive and imperative are built on them. A note on spelling: the written accent in this tense is part of the form, not decoration. In the present tense, préfère carries a grave accent, and leaving it out or writing the acute accent changes the form, so copy the forms from the table above exactly, accents included.
When to use the present tense of préférer
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with préférer: “Je préfère le thé au café tous les jours.” — “I prefer tea to coffee.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with préférer: “Tu préfères le thé au café en général.” — “You prefer tea to coffee.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with préférer: “Il préfère le thé au café maintenant.” — “He prefers tea to coffee.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with préférer: “Nous préférons le thé au café demain.” — “We prefer tea to coffee.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with préférer: “Ils préfèrent le thé au café souvent.” — “They prefer tea to coffee.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: préférer now, préférer later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present Tense: “Je préfère le thé au café tous les jours.” — “I prefer tea to coffee.”
Future: “Je préférerai le thé au café demain.” — “I will prefer tea to coffee tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu préfères le thé au café maintenant.” — “You prefer tea to coffee.”
Future: “Tu préféreras le thé au café demain.” — “You will prefer tea to coffee tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous préférons le thé au café en classe.” — “We prefer tea to coffee.”
Future: “Nous préférerons le thé au café demain.” — “We will prefer tea to coffee tomorrow.”
Example sentences: préférer in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of préférer, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Je préfère le thé au café tous les jours.” — “I prefer tea to coffee.”
- “Tu préfères le thé au café chaque matin.” — “You prefer tea to coffee.”
- “Il préfère le thé au café souvent.” — “He prefers tea to coffee.”
- “Nous préférons le thé au café maintenant.” — “We prefer tea to coffee.”
- “Vous préférez le thé au café en général.” — “You prefer tea to coffee.”
- “Ils préfèrent le thé au café le week-end.” — “They prefer tea to coffee.”
Common mistakes with préférer in the present tense
Mistake 1: Forgetting the grave accent
Wrong: “préfére”
Right: “préfère”
The accent on préfère is part of the spelling in the present. Without it the form is wrong.
Mistake 2: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu préfère le thé au café.”
Right: “Tu préfères le thé au café.”
After tu you need préfères, not the je form préfère. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “Je préférerai le thé au café.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “Je préfère le thé au café tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (préférerai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: Using the passé composé for a habit
Wrong: “J'ai préféré le thé au café tous les jours.” (for a daily habit)
Right: “Je préfère le thé au café tous les jours.”
A daily habit takes the present. The passé composé is for finished events.
Quiz: préférer in the present tense
What is the je form of préférer in the Present indicative?
- A) préfère
- B) préfèrent
- C) préférons
- D) préfères
What is the tu form of préférer in the Present indicative?
- A) préférez
- B) préfères
- C) préférons
- D) préfèrent
What is the il/elle form of préférer in the Present indicative?
- A) préfères
- B) préférez
- C) préférons
- D) préfère
What is the nous form of préférer in the Present indicative?
- A) préférons
- B) préfère
- C) préfèrent
- D) préférez
What is the vous form of préférer in the Present indicative?
- A) préfère
- B) préférons
- C) préfères
- D) préférez
What is the ils/elles form of préférer in the Present indicative?
- A) préfères
- B) préférez
- C) préfèrent
- D) préfère
What is the gerund of préférer?
- A) préférerai
- B) en préférant
- C) préféré
- D) préfère
What does préférer mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to prefer
- C) to go
- D) to have
Answer key
- A) préfère — the je form of préférer in the present indicative is préfère.
- B) préfères — the tu form of préférer in the present indicative is préfères.
- D) préfère — the il/elle form of préférer in the present indicative is préfère.
- A) préférons — the nous form of préférer in the present indicative is préférons.
- D) préférez — the vous form of préférer in the present indicative is préférez.
- C) préfèrent — the ils/elles form of préférer in the present indicative is préfèrent.
- B) en préférant — the gerund of préférer is en préférant.
- B) to prefer — préférer means “to prefer” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of préférer formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is préfère and the ils form is préfèrent. The accent changes from é to è in the singular and third-person plural.
When do I use the present tense of préférer?
Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the present tense and the future?
The present is for what is true now or happens regularly (préfère), while the future is for what will happen (préférerai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of préférer?
On the full conjugation page for préférer, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six present tense forms of préférer in order, without looking: préfère, préfères, préfère, préférons, préférez, préfèrent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using préfère, ai préféré and préférerai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
Related pages
- préférer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- préférer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Choisir conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise préférer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise préférer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.