Hello, everyone! I am studying how to talk about preferences in English. And I am a little confused with these three structures: “prefer”, “would prefer” and “would rather”. The one of the problems is that I don’t understand the difference between “would prefer” and “would rather”. Yes, I know they have different structures, but what about the meaning? For example:
A: Do you want to watch a movie tonight?
B1: I would rather play a game.
B2: I would prefer to play a game.
What is the difference in the meaning between B1 and B2?
And the second problem with “prefer”, “would prefer” and “would rather” is that I don’t know how to say the same sentence in different verb tenses with “would prefer” structure. Loot at the tables.
P.S. Please, check the tables. There are very simple sentences.
Same subject
Past Present Future Prefer I preferred to stay at home when I was younger. I prefer to stay at home on weekends. I will prefer to stay at home on weekends when I am old. Would prefer I would have preferred to stay at home last night. I would prefer to stay home. I would prefer to stay home tonight. Would rather I would rather have stayed here last night. I would rather stay here. I would rather stay here tonight.Different subjects
Past Present Future Prefer Can I use “prefer” with different subjects? Can I use “prefer” with different subjects? Can I use “prefer” with different subjects? Would prefer I would have preferred you to stay here last night. I would prefer you to stay here. I would prefer you to stay here tonight. Would rather I would rather you had stayed here last night. I would rather you stayed here. I would rather you stayed here tonight.Conclusion:
I think that we need to use “prefer” when we are talking about preferences in general. For example:
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I prefer coffee to tea.
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He prefers reading books rather than watching films.
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They prefer to stay at home on weekends.
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We prefer walking to driving.
But “would prefer” and “would rather” are used when we are talking about preferences in specific situations in the present, past or in the future. But again, what is the difference in the meaning between “would prefer” and “would rather”? I like “would rather” more than “would prefer”, it is much easier to use for me.
