Expressing Preferences with Would Rather

Expressing Preferences with Would Rather Both  would rather and would prefer  are  used to express preferences in English.  Here are some examples of short conversations that use would rather  and would prefer  to either state or ask for a preference. John: Lets go out tonight.Mary: Thats a good idea.John: How about going to a film? Theres a new film out with Tom Hanks.Mary: Id rather go out for dinner. Im hungry!John: Okay. Which restaurant would you prefer?Mary: Id prefer to eat at Johnnys. They serve great steaks. Sue: Im not sure which topic to choose for my essay.Debby: Well, what are your choices?Sue: I can write about the economy or about a book.Debby: Which would you rather write about?Sue: Id prefer to write about a book.Debby: How about Moby Dick?Sue: No, Id rather write about Timothys Gift. Would Rather - Structure Use  would rather  plus the simple form of the verb. Its common to use would rather in the shortened Id rather form in positive statements. Use  Would rather  to refer to the present moment or a future moment in time. Here are the structures: Positive Subject would rather (d rather) verb Peterd rather spend time on the beach.I would rather learn a new language than study math. Question Would subject rather verb   Would you rather stay at home?Would they rather do homework tomorrow morning? Negative Subject would rather (d rather)   not   verb   Shed rather not go to class today.Id rather not answer that question. Would Rather Than Would rather is often used with than  when making a choice between two specific actions: Would you rather eat dinner out than cook dinner tonight?She would rather play tennis than go horseback riding. Would Rather Or Would rather  can also be used to ask for a choice between two with the conjunction  or: Would you rather eat here or go out?Would you rather study or watch TV? Would Rather Someone Do Would rather is also used to express what one person prefers another person would do. The structure is similar to the unreal conditional because it expresses an imaginary wish. However, the form is also used to ask a polite question. S would rather Person past verb   Tom would rather Mary bought an SUV.Would you rather she stayed here with us? Positive Subject would rather (d rather) object past tense I would rather my son worked in finance.Susan would rather Peter took a plane. Question Would subject rather object past tense Would you rather her sister flew home tomorrow?Would you rather he came with us to the meeting? Would Prefer Its also possible to use  would prefer  instead of  would rather  to speak about present preferences.  In this case, follow prefer by the infinitive form of the verb: Positive Subject would prefer (d prefer) infinitive (to do) Jennifer would prefer to stay at home tonight.The teacherd prefer to have the test next week. Question Would subject prefer   infinitive (to do) Would you prefer to go out for dinner tonight?Would they prefer to stay in New York for the week? Expressing Preferences with Prefer Use the simple present with  prefer  to express general preferences between people, places or objects. Use the preposition  to  to state your preference: Positive Subject prefer   object to object She prefers coffee to tea.  I prefer summer vacations to winter vacations.   Question Do subject prefer   Ã‚  object to object Do you prefer wine to beer?Does she prefer New York to Chicago? When stating preferences for activities, use  prefer  followed by either the gerund or the infinitive form of the verb:   Positive Subject prefer  Ã‚  to do / doing object My friend prefers to finish his chores early in the morning.  Jack prefers doing his homework at home to doing it in the library. Question Do subject prefer   to do / doing object When do you prefer staying at home to going out at night?Does she prefer to eat in restaurants? Preferences Quiz I Fill in the gap with the correct form of the verb (do, to do, doing, did): Jenniferd rather _____ (stay) home for dinner tonight.I think Id prefer _______ (play) chess  today.Would you rather I _____ (leave) you alone?Id rather the students _____ (study) for their test.Peter prefers _____ (relax) at home on the weekend. Preferences Quiz II Fill in the gap with  to, than, or: Do you prefer coffee _____ tea?I think Id prefer _____ drive to California.  Would you rather go to the club _____ go to the beach? (asking for a choice)Hed rather work all day _____ go to the beach! (make a specific choice)My friend prefers Japanese food _____ American food. Quiz Answers Quiz I stayto play  leftstudyrelaxing / to relax Quiz II totoorthanto