BBC Learning English:’prefer’ or ‘would prefer’ or ‘would rather’?
BBC Learning English:’prefer’ or ‘would prefer’ or ‘would rather’?
How can we use, prefer, would prefer, would rather?
That’s what Maria wants to know.
I would like to know how to use:
I prefer –
I would prefer -.
I would rather -.
For general preference, when you like one thing more than another. You can use prefer.
I prefer chocolate to apples.
Or, you can use would rather.
I’d rather eat chocolate than apples.
When you talk about a specific preference, a preference now or the future, we use “would prefer”
I’d rather to go out rather than stay in tonight.
Or, you could also say “would rather”
I’d rather go out than stay in tonight.
Did you notice there are some differences in the grammar of these sentences.
I’ve made a longer video with more examples, and where I look in more depth at the grammar of these forms.
So, go and check out the video on our website.
I’ll see you there.