Would you rather study English with a boring grammar book, or would you prefer to improve your English with us on this podcast?

Today you’ll learn how to use rather and prefer. Welcome to Aprender Inglés con Reza y Craig.

Audio feedback from Leandro about the IELTS exam.
XmakeX me company (keep)
From home to work and from work to home = on my commute / on my way to work

Audio feedback from Fabricio

Rather and Prefer

Rather and prefer both mean “to like better”, but what’s the difference in grammar?

I’d rather have tea.
I’d prefer to have tea.

In these examples, rather is followed by a verb (without ‘to’) and prefer is followed by an infinitive with ‘to’.

I’d rather live in Spain than the UK.
I’d prefer to live in Valencia than London.

‘Not’ comes before the main verb with both rather and prefer.

I’d rather not have fish for lunch.
I’d prefer not to work on Saturday
We often use RATHER with WOULD – I would rather / I’d rather have tea.
Would is often contracted: I would rather = I’d rather

Rather can also mean ‘quite’ ‘bastante’:
I rather like those biscuits.
It’s rather cold today.

PREFER can be followed by an infinitive with TO, a gerund, or a noun:
I prefer to drink coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon. (prefer + verb)
I prefer chocolate biscuits to plain ones. (prefer + noun)

She preferred to drink tea. / I preferred tea to coffee. (Use the preposition ‘to’ with prefer:
They preferred butter to olive oil.
I think you’ll prefer walking to taking the bus..

Discussion

Would you rather be too busy or be bored?

Would you prefer to have nosy neighbors or noisy neighbors?

Would you rather be a little late or way too early?

Would you prefer an unlimited gift certificate to a restaurant or a clothing shop?

Would you rather have a horrible job, but be able to retire comfortably in 10 years or have your dream job, but have to work until the day you die?

Would you prefer a rewind button or a pause button on your life?

Would you rather be able to talk with the animals or speak all foreign languages?

Would you prefer to spend the night in a luxury hotel room or camping surrounded by beautiful scenery?

Would you rather be too hot or too cold?

Would you prefer to hear good news or bad news first?

Would you rather be your own boss or work for someone else?

Would you rather be Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck?

…and now it’s your turn to practise your English.
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On next week’s episode: Irreversible Binomials

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