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Grammar

britdam007

britdam007

India

1) I would rather you helped my brother.


2) I had rather you would stay with me.


3) I would rather go to New York.


Could you please tell me the meaning of all the 3 above mentioned sentences one by one?


Best regards,


Abhishek


11:46 AM Dec 22 2014 |

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Teacher AmySuper Member!

United States

Usually a sentence that begins with “I would rather” or “I’d (I had) rather” will continue with the word “than” and say more, because both mean “I prefer.”


For example, the first sentence would be more complete if it said something like, “I would rather you helped my brother than worked in the garden.” It’s saying “I prefer that you help my brother instead of working in the garden.”


The same applies to sentences #2 and #3. The sentences are saying, “I prefer that you stay with me…” and “I prefer to go to New York…”, but neither sentence tells what the person speaking is comparing his or her preferences to. (For example, “I had rather that you stay with me than go with Grandma,” or, “I would rather go to New York than Los Angeles.”)


Does this help? In all three sentences, the person speaking is sharing his or her preference, but the sentences are a little incomplete.


Best,


Amy

08:00 PM Dec 23 2014 |