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Expressing Preferences

We often use words like prefer, would prefer, would rather to talk or ask about preferences.
"I prefer living on my own."
"Would you prefer to see a movie or go to a club?"
"Would you rather  go shopping with me?"

Those expressions are quite different in meaning and this is why learners of English often find them challenging. So here is how we can separate them:


Difference in meaning:

We tend to use 'prefer' to talk generally about likes, dislikes, what we want.
“He prefers reading books.”
“I prefer going to the beach than going to a swimming pool.”

The expressions 'would prefer' and 'would rather', to be a little more specific.
“I would prefer to see him in person.”
“I would rather go home now.”


Difference in form:

Followed by a different verb form:

“I prefer living in a city.” (followed by the gerund; the '-ing' ending)
“I would prefer to be told the truth.” (followed by the infinitive; to+ the verb)
“Would you rather stay at a hotel?” (followed by the base form of the verb; the verb without 'to'.


Different prepositions to state the choice.

prefer, would prefer – go with 'to'
“I'd prefer living in a city to living in the country.”
“I would (I'd) prefer being alone to being with the wrong person”.

would rather – goes with 'than'
“I would (I'd) rather talk to him in person than call him on the phone.”

 

***
 
1. You can check your understanding as you match the questions below with suitable endings:
Would you prefer ...?
Would you rather ....?
 
- taking a nap or going for a walk
- a trip to Jamaica or a cruise to Alaska
- watch a talk show or see a movie
- to stay at home or go outside with friends
 
2. Practice asking and answering questions of the same type with friends.

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05:06 AM Jan 30 2009 | Reply

yongchun00

yongchun00

China

thanks a lot !!

"would you prefer taking a nap or going for a walk ?"

"would you rather talk a nap or go for a walk? "

12:11 PM Jan 28 2009 | Reply

MATRIX_07

MATRIX_07

Saudi Arabia

of course I see :)

good job Smile

12:06 PM Jan 28 2009 | Reply

nad1a

nad1a

Greece

you see? :-)

08:05 AM Jan 19 2009 | Reply

Lidan&1991

China

i see

09:02 PM Jan 02 2009 | Reply

prashantjohn11

India

hi friendz ita a great lesson. i knew all these before but i never concentrated. this might be a simple lesson but very useful. i must confess it i always get confused while using these but from now iam sure i wont get confused as i was used to. 

09:04 AM Dec 27 2008 | Reply

mileycyrus

India

yes its really a good lesson

 

08:22 AM Dec 06 2008 | Reply

Diomedes1990

Dominican Republic

great lesson

09:12 AM Nov 21 2008 | Reply

nad1a

nad1a

Greece

well, yes, that's how it usually goes:

when you offer a choice, the choice is introduced by the word 'or' (with both 'would you prefer' and 'would you rather') but when you state your choice, you use 'to' with the expression 'i would prefer' or 'i prefer' and you use 'than' with the expression 'would rather'. 

07:54 AM Nov 21 2008 | Reply

Pakulka

Pakulka

Czech Republic

Would you prefer apple juice or oranage juice?”

vs.

I would prefer a walk to a nap”.

In the question is "or" and in the answer is "to", that is right, isn't it?

02:23 PM Oct 11 2008 | Reply

shionah

Saudi Arabia

very usefel ….thanx alot

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