Using rather

Rather is used to talk about preferences.

 Don’t come today. I would rather you came tomorrow. (= I would prefer you to come tomorrow.)
After would rather we usually use a past tense with present or future meaning.
 ‘Would you like something to drink?’ ‘I would rather have something to eat.’ (= I would prefer to have
something to eat.)
Rather can mean ‘more precisely’.
 He arrived late last night, or rather, in the early hours this morning.
 He ran, or rather staggered, to the finishing line.
Rather than
This expression is mostly used in parallel structures. That means we use it with two adjectives, adverbs, nouns,
infinitives or –ing forms.
 I would rather spend my time traveling than working.
 We ought to invest in education rather than defense.
When the main clause has a to-infinitive, rather than is usually followed by an infinitive without to. An –ing form is
also possible.
 I decided to wait rather than leave. OR I decided to wait rather than leaving.
 He must learn to shoulder responsibility rather than leave everything to fate. (OR … rather than leaving
everything to fate.)
Rather can mean ‘indeed so’ in short answers.
 ‘Are you comfortable?’ ‘Yes, rather!’
Rather as a degree modifier
Rather can suggest ideas such as ‘more than is usual’, ‘more than was expected’ or ‘more than was wanted’.
 Do you see that rather tall boy standing over there?
 She speaks English rather well. (= She speaks English remarkably well.)

Would rather, would sooner

Would rather
We use would rather or ’d rather to talk about preferring one thing to another. Would rather has two different
constructions. (The subjects are underlined in the examples.)
Compare

same subject (+ base form) different subject (+ past simple clause)

I’d  rather  stay at home than go out I’d  rather  you stayed  at home
tonight. tonight.

I’d  rather  not go out  tonight. I’d  rather  you didn’t  go out tonight

In negative sentences with a different subject, the negative comes on the clause that follows, not on would rather:
She’d  rather  you didn’t  phone after 10 o’clock.
Not: She wouldn’t rather you phoned after 10 o’clock.
Same subject
When the subject is the same person in both clauses, we use would rather (not) followed by the base form of the
verb:
 We’d  rather  go on Monday.
Not: We’d rather to go … or We’d rather going …
More than half the people questioned would rather have a shorter summer break and more holidays at other
times.
I’d  rather  not  fly. I hate planes.
When we want to refer to the past we use would rather + have + -ed form (perfect infinitive without to):
She  would rather have spent the money on a holiday. (The money wasn’t spent on a holiday.)
I’d  rather  have seen  it at the cinema than on DVD. (I saw the film on DVD.)
Different subjects
When the subjects of the two clauses are different, we often use the past simple to talk about the present or future,
and the past perfect to talk about the past:
I  would rather they  did something about it instead of just talking about it. (past simple to talk about the present or
future)
Would you  rather  I wasn’t  honest with you? (past simple to talk about the present or future)
Not: Would you rather I’m not honest with you? or … I won’t be honest with you?
I’d  rather  you hadn’t  rung me at work. (past perfect to talk about the past)
Much rather
We can use much with would rather to make the preference stronger. In speaking, we stress much:
I’d  much rather make a phone call than send an email.
She’d  much  rather  they didn’t know about what had happened.
Short responses: I’d rather not
We often use I’d rather not as a short response to say no to a suggestion or request:
A:
Do you want to go for a coffee?
B:
I’d rather not, if you don’t mind.
Would sooner, would just as soon
We use the phrases would sooner and would just as soon when we say that we prefer one thing to another thing.
They mean approximately the same as would rather:
I don’t really want to go back to France again this year. I’d  sooner  go to Spain.
Thanks for the invitation, but, if you don’t mind, we’d just  as soon stay at home and watch it all on TV.
Would sooner is more common than would just as soon. However, would rather is more common than both of
these phrases.
See also:
 Would rather
Would rather, would sooner: typical errors
 We don’t use would rather or would sooner with an -ing form or a to-infinitive:
I don’t need a lift, thanks. I’d rather walk.
Not: I’d rather to walk. or I’d rather walking.
 When we use not referring to a different subject, we attach not to the second clause, not to would
rather or would sooner:
I’d rather they didn’t tell anyone
Not: I’d rather not they told anyone.

Rather and Prefer

Rather and Prefer are words used to show a choice from different options. The lesson below shows you how to
use rather and prefer properly in English. You can see the tests at the bottom of the page.
Let’s start with some examples:
 Would you rather eat pizza or pasta?
 I would rather eat pizza.
 Would you prefer to eat pizza or pasta?
 I would prefer to eat pizza.
Now, let’s look at the structure:

Rather/Prefer Structure
The structure of these sentences are the same except for one small difference: rather is followed by a base verb
and prefer is followed by an infinitive.
Subject + Would + Rather + Base Verb
 I would rather live in a warm country.
 I would rather go to a different restaurant.
Subject + Would + Prefer + To + Verb
 I would prefer to live in a warm country.
 She would prefer to meet on Monday.
Not comes before the verb with both rather and prefer.
 I would rather not go to work today.
 I would prefer not to play a game.
Take a look at this conversation to see some examples of would rather and would prefer:
Alex:
Would you rather stay home and cook dinner or go out?
Betty:
I’d rather go out. I am pretty tired today, so I don’t want to cook. What about you? Would you rather stay in or go
out?
Alex:
I would prefer to stay in, but we can go out if you would like.
Betty:
That would be nice. What type of restaurant would you like to go to?
Alex:
I’d prefer to go somewhere quiet.
Betty:
Really? Not me. I would rather go somewhere fun, maybe even with some live music.
Alex:
But I thought you were tired?
Betty:
I am, but not too tired to have some fun.
Alex:
Well, I’d prefer not to, but…..OK.