sip of english logo
Back
notion image
😉
‘I would rather go’ or ‘I would prefer to go’? When should you use them? Let’s find out!

Buy me a cup of coffee! ☕ If you found my materials useful and you’d like to support me, buy me a cup of coffee here: ko-fi.com/sipofenglish

Warm up

Take a look at the pictures below and describe what you see. What do you like to do on a Friday night?

notion image

Match the sentences below to the right pictures.

A “I would prefer to stay at home.”

B “I would rather go out.”

🤔
- Can you spot which word is used with ‘would prefer’ that is not used with ‘would rather’? - Which form do verbs take after "would rather" and "would prefer”? - Does ‘would rather’ and ‘would prefer’ mean the same thing?

Theory part 1

notion image

Exercise 1

Complete the transcript. Use ‘prefer’ or ‘rather’.

"Can we please eat?" "No eating until the captain gets here, okay? Sorry" "Don't apologize. I … (spend) Thanksgiving at your house than with my sister.”

Exercise 2

Add ‘to’ where necessary and answer those questions:

  1. Would you rather … travel to Canada or Norway?
  1. Would you prefer … eat pizza or pasta?
  1. Would you prefer … cook dinner today or eat out?
  1. Would you rather … swim in a pool full of honey or Nutella?
  1. Would you prefer … win a million dollars or inherit a villa in Sweden?
  1. Would you rather … learn German or learn how to play the violin?
  1. Would you prefer … adopt a cat or a dog?
  1. Would you prefer … watch Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings?
  1. Would you rather … spend an evening playing video games or watching a film?
  1. Would you rather … spend a night in a haunted house or alone in the forest?

More questions: link

 

Warm up - part 2

Let’s watch one more clip. Play the video below, start watching at 8:56 and listen closely to the grammatical structures used after ‘rather’.

“Take a seat” ”I’d rather … (stand)” ”I’d rather you … (sit)”

🤔
We already know which structure is correct in the first case. What about the second example? - Which form of the verb ‘sit’ is used in the second example? - What’s the difference between the two examples?

Theory part 2

notion image

Exercise 3

Fill in the gaps and watch the video:

"I don't know. Sometimes when I share this sort of stuff, I think: "Do you really care like about the behind the scenes of the business?" But maybe you do. I don't know. Let me know if you care or if you'd rather I just … (talk) about what I'm up to.”

✂️ you'd rather I ... (talk)
12 seconds · Clipped by Justyna Surma · Original video "THINGS HAVE CHANGED & My Sustainable Tips this Christmas | VLOGMAS 17" by Madeleine Olivia
✂️ you'd rather I ... (talk)
https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx3zpsXD17_t6raK1cZXPpuTyXuO1NXxC7
✂️ you'd rather I ... (talk)

Exercise 4

Fill in the gaps and answer the questions.

  1. Would you rather your pet … (learn) a new trick or … (walk) itself?
  1. Would you rather your partner/best friend … (cook) dinner or … (clean) the house?
  1. Would you rather your mum … (have) a hard but well-paid job or a cushy and badly-paid one?
  1. Would you rather your boss … (give) you a 5% raise or … (leave) the office for a month?
  1. Would you rather your friends … (throw) a surprise party for you on your birthday or … (pay) for your holiday?
  1. Would you rather Johnny Depp … (play) Gandalf in LOTR or Hagrid in Harry Potter?
  1. Would you rather somebody … (give) you a back massage or foot massage?