Would Rather, Would Prefer and Prefer (B2)

Prefer, would prefer and would rather express a choice between alternatives. You can use them to describe general tastes, choose what to do, make polite requests, and explain how you wanted a past situation to be different.

General preferences and particular choices

Use prefer for general tastes and habits. Use would prefer or would rather especially for a choice in a particular situation.

Meaning	Pattern	Example
General preference	prefer + noun	I prefer tea.
General preference about an activity	prefer + -ing / to-infinitive	I prefer walking. / I prefer to walk.
Particular choice	would prefer + noun / to-infinitive	I would prefer a taxi. / I would prefer to walk.
Particular choice about an action	would rather + base form	I would rather walk.

This is a useful distinction, not a strict division. Prefer can also describe a current choice: “Which seat do you prefer?” Would often makes a preference sound less direct.

Usual habit: I prefer cooking at home to eating out.

Tonight’s choice: I’m tired. I**’d prefer to eat** out tonight.

The same choice: I**’d rather eat** out tonight.

Here, ’d means would. Would rather is common in conversation; would prefer often sounds slightly more formal or polite.

Comparing two alternatives

The comparison word depends on the pattern. Keep the two alternatives balanced: compare nouns with nouns, or actions with actions.

Pattern	Example
prefer + noun + to + noun	I prefer tea to coffee.
prefer + -ing + to + -ing	I prefer walking to driving.
prefer + to-infinitive + rather than + base form	I prefer to walk rather than drive.
would prefer + noun + to + noun	I would prefer tea to coffee.
would prefer + to-infinitive + rather than + base form	I would prefer to walk rather than drive.
would rather + base form + than + base form	I would rather walk than drive.

In prefer walking to driving, to is a preposition, so it is followed by an -ing form. In prefer to walk, it introduces an infinitive.

Remember three useful pairs:

prefer tea to coffee
would prefer to stay rather than leave
would rather stay than leave

You can leave out the second alternative when it is already clear: “I’d rather stay.”

Negatives and questions

To express a preference not to do something, put not before the action.

I**’d rather not discuss** it now.

I**’d prefer not to discuss** it now.

I prefer not to drive at night.

With would, form questions by putting would before the subject. With ordinary present-tense prefer, use do or does.

Question	Natural short response
Do you prefer tea or coffee?	Tea, please.
Would you prefer to sit outside?	Yes, I’d prefer that.
Would you rather sit inside or outside?	I’d rather sit outside.

After would rather, use the base form, not a to-infinitive or an -ing form.

✗ I’d rather to stay.

✗ I’d rather staying.

✓ I**’d rather stay**.

After would prefer, use a to-infinitive in this pattern:

✓ I**’d prefer to stay**.

Quick check

Try one question now.

I usually prefer a window seat an aisle seat, but on this flight I would prefer an aisle seat a window seat.

Check your answer when you are ready. No sign-in needed.

Preferences about another person’s actions

When you want someone else to do something, the two expressions use different structures.

Expression	Pattern	Example
would rather	subject + would rather + another subject + past simple	I’d rather you called tomorrow.
would prefer	subject + would prefer + object + to-infinitive	I’d prefer you to call tomorrow.
would prefer it if	subject + would prefer it if + another subject + past simple	I’d prefer it if you called tomorrow.

The past simple in I’d rather you called tomorrow refers to the future, not the past. It presents the action as a desired situation rather than a fact.

For a negative preference, use didn’t after the second subject with would rather, or not to with would prefer.

I**’d rather you didn’t use** my laptop.

I**’d prefer you not to use** my laptop.

I**’d prefer it if you didn’t use** my laptop.

Compare who performs the action:

I’d rather leave now. → I want to leave.
I’d rather you left now. → I want you to leave.

These forms can soften a request, but tone and context still matter. “I’d rather you left now” can sound firm.

Preferences about the past

To express a different preference about a completed situation, use a perfect form.

When the person expressing the preference also performs the action, use:

would rather + have + past participle
would prefer + to have + past participle

We travelled by bus, but it was uncomfortable.

I**’d rather have taken** the train.

I**’d prefer to have taken** the train.

With would rather + another subject, use the past perfect: had + past participle.

You told everyone my news yesterday. I wanted it to remain private.

I**’d rather you hadn’t told** everyone.

Compare I’d rather you didn’t tell anyone tomorrow with I’d rather you hadn’t told anyone yesterday. The first concerns a future action; the second concerns a completed past action.

Choose the right pattern

Describe a general preference: use prefer, as in prefer swimming to running.
Choose your own action: use would rather go or would prefer to go.
Compare actions: use would rather go than stay or would prefer to go rather than stay.
Express a preference about someone else: use would rather you went or would prefer you to go.
Look back at a completed situation: use would rather have gone, would prefer to have gone, or would rather you had gone.

The key checks are who performs the action, when it happens, and which verb pattern follows the preference expression.

1.General preferences and particular choices

2.Comparing two alternatives

3.Negatives and questions

Try one question now.

4.Preferences about another person’s actions

5.Preferences about the past

6.Choose the right pattern

Now make it stick.