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EXPRESSING PREFERENCES (prefer, would prefer, would rather)

EXPRESSING PREFERENCES (prefer, would prefer, would rather)

Date: Oct 10 2008

Topic: Grammar

Author: nad1a

Lesson

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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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qkel

Brazil

thx for lessonKiss

09:16 PM Jul 10 2009 |

shekharkc

Nepal

would you perfer to work then you get great position in your company

01:06 PM Jul 10 2009 |

ahmad133

ahmad133

Yemen

great job

thanks

08:18 PM Jul 09 2009 |

yasser_mso

Yemen

I would prefer to finsh the project on time

I prefer finshing the project on time

i would rather go with me at home 

thank you very much for this lesson

03:52 PM Jul 09 2009 |

juletloves

juletloves

United States

( )

Hello Dearest,
Permit me to inform you of my desire of going into business relationship with you.
My name is Julet Desmond  the only daughter of late  Mr.and Mrs.Desmnd
MY PHILIP DESMOND THE CHAIRMAN MANAGING DIRECTOR OF DESMOND & SONS INDUSTRIALS COMPANY IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF MY COUNTRY ( KIGALI ">FATHER, Also the PERSONAL ADVISER to the former HEAD OF STATE my father was poisoned to death by his business associates on one of their outings on a business trip .While my mother died when I was a baby and since then my father took me so special. Before his death on october 2007 in a private hospital in  Rwanda . he secretly called me on his bed side and told me that he has some amount of money in a leading bank which he used my name as the nest of kin the amount in question is $6.5M(Six Million Five Hundred Thousand USDollars)
that he used my name as his only daughter for the next of Kin in depositing of the fund. He also explained to me that it was because of this wealth that he was poisoned by his business associates.That incase he die I should move out of the country down to senegal,   to seek for a foreign partner in a country of my choice where i will transfer this money and use it for investment purpose after my education such as real estate management or hotel management.I am living in senegal now. Dear I am honourably seeking your assistance in the following ways,

To provide a bank account into which this money would be transferred to,
To serve as a guardian of this fund since I am only 22years and To make arrangement for me to come over to your country to further my education and to secure a resident permit in your country while you will be take care of investing this money. Moreover, Dear, I am willing to offer you 15% of the total sum as compensation for your effort/ input after the successful transfer of this fund into your nominated account overseas Furthermore, you indicate your options towards assisting me as I believe that this transaction would be concluded within a sort posille time.if you are interested . pls email me with my email address ( )
so that i can give you more details and and my pic for you to know me
i will stop here for now  waiting hear from you soon.
Thanks and God bless.
Julet Desmond.

05:38 AM Jul 09 2009 |

tamer atya

Egypt

thats is fault  يلعن كس ام ابوكوا

01:13 AM Jul 08 2009 |

the soul tears

Jordan

god job

thanx Laughing

08:22 PM Jul 07 2009 |

quynh_148

Viet Nam

Would you prefer to stay at home or go outside with friends

Would you prefer taking a nap or going for a walk

Would you prefer a trip to Jamaica or a cruise to Alaska

Would you rather watch a talk show or see a movie

 

07:49 AM Jul 07 2009 |

AnThy

United States

Hi!Smile

I prefer making friend with everybody!

I 'd rather talk to you than chat on text .

 

06:46 AM Jul 07 2009 |

gholam in baby

Saudi Arabia

hi

05:17 PM Jul 06 2009 |

Ryan_79

Viet Nam

i would prefer to make friend to everyone.

every morning i prefer getting up early to working

 

01:21 AM Jul 06 2009 |

Nim

Nim

China

 great job!

I would perfer make friends with you!Wink

 

 

11:12 AM Jul 04 2009 |

green greener

United Arab Emirates

Would you prefer taking a nap or going for a walk?
Would you rather a trip to Jamaica than a cruise to Alaska?
Would you prefer watching a talk show or seeing a movie?
would you rather stay at home than go outside with friends?

02:52 PM Jul 02 2009 |

hj914

hj914

China

Would you prefer to have a coffee with me or to go outside?

Would you rather  being alone than being with the wrong person?

I'd rather make friends than be alone~

02:01 PM Jul 02 2009 |

hj914

hj914

China

Would you prefer to have a coffee with me or to go outside?

Would you rather  being alone than being with the wrong person?

I'd rather make friends than be alone~

02:01 PM Jul 02 2009 |

rovelife

China

oh,thanks a lot.

03:50 AM Jun 30 2009 |

memo 90

memo 90

Saudi Arabia

thanks a bundle :)

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

would you rather watch a talk show or see a movie?

02:17 PM Jun 27 2009 |

thekrayat

thekrayat

Jordan

thank you vary muchLaughing

01:08 PM Jun 21 2009 |

Frykt

Frykt

Russian Federation

thx)))

11:25 AM Jun 21 2009 |

TranceSoul

TranceSoul

Poland

Very good lesson!!

It helps me.

06:21 PM Jun 19 2009 |

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