Would Rather / Would Prefer

C1 — grammar, speaking, writing

Kenji: Would you rather work from home or from the studio today?

Sofía: I'd rather work from home, honestly. Fewer interruptions.

Ben: I'd rather you didn't ask me that today. I haven't decided which mess to deal with first.

Abuela Carmen: I would prefer that all three of you simply decide something, for once.

Common mistake: “I'd rather to stay home tonight.” — Correct: “I'd rather stay home tonight.”

'Would rather' expresses a preference — bare infinitive for your own action, but past simple when the preference is about someone else's action; 'would prefer' works the same way but with a to-infinitive.

• preferencia propia (infinitivo sin to) would rather + bare infinitive — preferiría (+ verbo sin 'to')
• preferencia sobre otra persona (pasado simple) would rather + subject + past simple — preferiría que (alguien) hiciera algo
• preferencia formal would prefer + to-infinitive — preferiría (+ 'to' + verbo)

• I'd rather stay home tonight.
• Sofía would rather work alone than in a big team.
• I'd rather you called me tomorrow.
• Ben would prefer to fix it himself.
• I'd rather not talk about it right now.
• Sofía would rather not take on new clients this month.
• I'd rather you didn't tell Ben yet.
• Would you rather stay or go?
• Would you prefer to call or email?
• Would you rather I called you later?
• Would you rather stay home? Yes, I would.
• Would you prefer to email? Yes, I would.
• Would you rather I left now? Yes, please.

Practice

1. I'd rather ___ home tonight. (stay, to stay, staying)
2. I'd rather you ___ me tomorrow. (called, call, to call)
3. Ben would prefer ___ it himself. (to fix, fix, fixing)
4. 'Would rather' is followed by a bare infinitive when talking about your own action.
5. When 'would rather' refers to someone else's action, it uses the past simple.
6. 'Would prefer' is followed by the bare infinitive, just like 'would rather'.
7. I'd rather ___ (not/talk) about it right now.
8. Sofía would rather ___ (not/take) on new clients this month.
9. I'd rather you ___ (not/tell) Ben yet.
10. Unscramble: I'd, rather, stay, home, tonight
11. Unscramble: Ben, would, prefer, to, fix, it, himself
12. Find the mistake: I'd rather to stay home tonight.
13. I prefer staying home tonight over going out. — Rewrite using 'would rather'.
14. I want you to call me tomorrow, not today. — Rewrite using 'would rather + past simple'.
15. Would you rather stay or go? — Answer with a short answer (stay).
16. I'd rather talk about it now. — Write the negative form.
17. Would you rather study grammar or vocabulary today?

Listening

Kenji: Would you rather work from home or from the studio today?

Sofía: I'd rather work from home, honestly. Fewer interruptions.

Ben: I'd rather you didn't ask me that today.

Kenji: That bad?

Ben: I'd prefer not to talk about it, if that's alright.

Abuela Carmen: I would prefer that all three of you simply decide something, for once.

Reading

Given the choice, Sofía would always rather work from home — fewer interruptions, better coffee, no small talk in the hallway. Kenji, on the other hand, would prefer to be surrounded by people; silence makes him restless. Ben rarely has a strong preference either way, though today he'd clearly rather not discuss whatever happened before he arrived. Abuela Carmen, watching all three of them dance around a simple scheduling question, finally said what she'd rather they all understood: it doesn't matter where you work, as long as the work actually gets done. Nobody argued with that.

• Sofía would rather work from home.
• Kenji prefers working alone in silence.
• Ben clearly wanted to discuss what happened.
• Abuela Carmen said the location doesn't matter as long as work gets done.