Talking About Preferences in French Using Préférer
Sentence Builder: Talking About Preferences (Les Préférences)
When talking about what you (or someone else) prefers in French, use the verb préférer followed by le / la / les and sometimes à (to) when comparing.
Sentence Builder
Qu’est-ce que vous préférez ?
What do you prefer?
Who prefers?
Je préfère…
I prefer…
Il préfère…
He prefers…
Elle préfère…
She prefers…
Food
la viande
meat
le poisson
fish
le bœuf
beef
le porc
pork
le mouton
mutton
le poulet
chicken
Compare with
à la viande
to meat
au poisson
to fish
au poulet
to chicken
au porc
to pork
à la volaille
to poultry
aux légumes
to vegetables
le / la / les
French usually keeps the article with general food words.
préférer à
Use à to compare one thing with another.
à + le = au
So à le poisson becomes au poisson.
Le bœuf primarily means the meat (‘beef’), but it can also refer to the animal, ‘ox.’
Grammar Tips
Always use le / la / les before food nouns – French almost never drops the article.
The verb préférer means to prefer and takes accents: pré–fé–rer.
When comparing, French uses à (literally “to”):
Je préfère la viande au poisson (I prefer meat to fish).
Notice that à changes form depending on the word that follows:
à + le → au (before masculine singular nouns)
à + les → aux (before plural nouns)
It stays à la (before feminine nouns).
This makes the sentence sound smoother and more natural in French.
Exercise: Talking About Preferences
Translate each sentence into French. Think of your answer first, then reveal the model answer.
Question 1
Give the following in French:
I prefer fish to meat.
Je préfère le poisson à la viande.
Question 2
Give the following in French:
She prefers beef to chicken.
Elle préfère le bœuf au poulet.
Question 3
Give the following in French:
He prefers beef to pork.
Il préfère le bœuf au porc.
Question 4
Give the following in French:
She prefers steak to mince.
Elle préfère le steak à la viande hachée.
Question 5
Give the following in French:
I prefer meat to vegetables.
Je préfère la viande aux légumes.