prefer 幾時用 to,, 幾時用ing??

這個問題跟I like+(to-infinitive / gerund)的情況一樣，用哪一個在乎你想表達一個動作/行為（infinitive），還是一個事態（gerund）。

I like to swim. 我愛游泳。
I like to cycle. 我愛踏單車。
I prefer to swim than to cycle. 我愛游泳多於踏單車。
在以上的句子中，to sing和to dance的主語都是I。

假若他人問你喜歡看甚麼運動，你就一定要用事態的說法：
What kind of sports do you like to watch on TV?
What are your favorite sports?
I like swimming. （因為游泳者不一定是話者，所以不可用to swim）
I like cycling.
I prefer swimming to cycling.

Prefer + to has another usage :

I prefer apple to orange - means I like apple instead of orange.

We can use either v-ing or to-infinitive without any difference .

You may say : I prefer staying at home / I prefer to stay at home

But , you prefer doing A to doing B
You would prefer to do something rather than do ...
You prefer to do something rather than do