Intermediate grammar exercise: would rather, would prefer, prefer
English grammar practice exercise for pre-intermediate / intermediate level: would rather vs. would prefer and prefer.
You can see a grammar explanation at the bottom of this page.
Exercise instructions
Choose the best answer to fill the gap in each of the following.
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| Would prefer, would rather: expressing specific preference |
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| When we speak about a specific preference, would rather and would prefer have the same meaning and are interchangeable. | We went to the theatre yesterday. Today I would rather go to the cinema. We went to the theatre yesterday. Today I would prefer to go to the cinema. |
| Would rather can be abbreviated to 'd rather. Would prefer can be abbreviated to 'd prefer. |
I'd rather go to the cinema. I'd prefer to go to the cinema. |
| Would rather is followed by the infinitive without to. Would prefer is followed by to + infinitive or a noun. |
I'd rather have fruit juice. I'd prefer to have fruit juice. |
| We use a past tense after would rather when we speak about the actions of other people, even though that action may be in the present or future. | I'd rather you took a taxi (instead of walking) – it's not safe on the streets at night. The film is quite violent. I'd rather our children didn't watch it. |
| We say: would rather . . . than |
It's such nice weather – I'd rather sit in the garden than watch TV. |
| We say: would prefer . . . rather than / instead of |
It's such nice weather – I'd prefer to sit in the garden rather than watch TV. |
| Prefer, would rather: expressing general preference |
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| When we talk about general preferences, we can use prefer or would rather. The meaning is the same. | I prefer walking to cycling. |
| After prefer we use the verb in the -ing form. After would rather we use the infinitive without to. |
I prefer using a keyboard to writing with a pen. I’d rather use a keyboard than write with a pen. |
| We say: prefer . . . to . . . We say: would rather . . . than . . . |
I prefer walking to driving. I’d rather walk than drive. |
Alicia Guadalupe Anaya Yocupicio - May 11, 2020, 4:41 pm
es muy divertido esta manera de estudiar
Bryan carranza - May 11, 2020, 8:54 pm
Estuvo un poco difícil pero ala vez facil
kiara - October 5, 2020, 6:27 pm
Great explanation , It was extremely helpful, Many thanks !