Note that prefer can often sound rather formal in ordinary conversation. Verbal expressions such as like…better and would rather are used more frequently. For example, instead of saying 'I prefer football to tennis', you can say 'I like football better than tennis', instead of 'I'd prefer an apple', you can say 'I'd rather have an apple', and instead of 'I'd prefer to walk', you can say 'I'd rather walk'.

注意，prefer在日常对话中听起来往往很正式，像like…better和would rather这样的口头表达更为常用。例如，我们一般用I like football better than tennis（我更喜欢足球，而不太喜欢网球）代替 I prefer football to tennis，用 I'd rather have an apple（我宁愿吃苹果）代替 I'd prefer an apple，用 I'd rather walk（我宁愿走路）代替 I'd prefer to walk。