Expressing Preferences (Would Rather, Would Prefer)

1) Would rather We use "would rather" to talk about specific or hypothetical preferences. Structure: would rather + infinitive (without to) (+ than + infinitive) Examples: I'd rather stay at home. We'd rather stay in tonight than go out. Would you rather live in a city or in the countryside? Negative: would rather + not + infinitive I'd rather not answer that question. Strong preference: would much / far rather I'd much rather go skiing than surfing. I'd far rather cycle than take the underground. 2) Prefer / Would prefer We use 'prefer' and 'would prefer' to talk about preferences. Prefer → general preferences Structure: prefer + noun / -ing + to + noun / -ing Examples: I prefer cats to dogs. He prefers working alone to working with others. Strong preference: much / definitely prefer I definitely prefer cats to dogs. I much prefer playing tennis to watching it. Would prefer → specific or hypothetical situations Structure: would prefer + to + infinitive Examples: I'd prefer to get a takeaway tonight. Would you prefer to live in the Arctic or the Sahara? Negative: would prefer + not + to + infinitive I'd prefer not to meet today. Strong preference: I'd much / definitely prefer to go by train. 3) Would go for (= would choose / prefer) We use 'would go for' to say what we choose. Example: Which would you rather be, a teacher or a doctor? - I'd go for a teacher. This is informal spoken English.