Crown Academy of English

English lessons and resources




  • Home
  • Online English lessons
  • IELTS online course
  • Articles & lessons
    • Grammar & vocabulary lessons
    • IELTS preparation
    • British culture
    • List of all articles & lessons
  • About
  • Contact
Home > Articles > English lessons > The verb PREFER in English

The verb PREFER in English

6th July 2017 by Andrew 7 Comments

This English lesson has 2 versions: 1) Video version 2) Text version. (below video)

We use the verb PREFER to say that we like something more than something else.

The structure is:

prefer noun phrase to noun phrase

Example:


coffee

I prefer coffee to tea.
(This means that I like coffee more than tea. Notice that we use the preposition “to” to separate the 2 things that we are comparing. The thing before the preposition “to” is the thing that we like the most.)

More examples:

I prefer rice to pasta.

I prefer reading to writing.
(“reading” and “writing” are gerunds. A gerund is a verb acting as a noun. )

Mark prefers watching TV to listening to the radio.

would prefer + infinitive

The above structure describes present and future preferences. The infinitive form of a verb is: “to” + base form

Example:
I would prefer to go to New York.
Contracted form: I’d prefer to go to New York.

More examples:

Mark: Let’s get a taxi.
Jane: I’d prefer to walk.

Negative form:
Jane: I’d prefer not to get a taxi.

Question form:
Mark: Would you prefer to walk?

would prefer + infinitive + rather than + base form of verb

= to want to do one thing more than another thing. (in the present or future)
(“rather than” separates the 2 activities that we are comparing. The activity before “rather than” is the one we want to do the most.)

Examples:

I would prefer to go to New York rather than go to Los Angeles.
Jane: I’d prefer to walk rather than get a taxi.

would prefer + object pronoun + infinitive

= to describe our preferences for the actions of another person (in the present or future)
Notice that we use the OBJECT pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them) and NOT the subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they)

Examples:

I would prefer him to drive. correct
I would prefer he to drive. wrong

Negative form:

I would prefer her not to drive.

Question form:

Would you prefer me to drive?

3 common mistakes with PREFER

“would prefer” is always followed by the INFINITIVE (“to” + base form):
I would prefer read. wrong
I would prefer to read. correct

We use the preposition “to” when comparing our preference of 2 things:
I prefer coffee than tea. wrong
I prefer coffee to tea. correct

We use “rather than” to compare 2 things that we would prefer to do:
I’d prefer to walk than get a taxi. wrong
I’d prefer to walk rather than get a taxi. correct

Online English lessons and conversation

Comments

  1. Solo says

    18th July 2017 at 6:05 pm

    I want to learn more phrasal verb

    Reply
  2. Arun says

    22nd February 2020 at 6:47 am

    Useful information with good examples. Thank you

    Reply
  3. christel says

    2nd April 2020 at 9:47 am

    explained very clearly. Thank you

    Reply
  4. Hendri says

    25th June 2020 at 8:11 am

    Can I say
    “He prefers to run rather than to swim.”?

    Reply
    • Alice says

      19th September 2020 at 10:43 am

      You should say:
      He prefers to run rather than swim.

      Reply
  5. Rhema says

    10th July 2020 at 10:49 am

    How can I use “prefer” at the beginning of the sentence?

    Reply
  6. Luz mary says

    28th August 2021 at 3:20 pm

    really usefull,
    thank you

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

English grammar ebook

English grammar ebook

Online English lessons

English lessons with a native English teacher
IELTS online course

Recent articles & lessons

doctor

The difference between practice and practise

4th June 2019

peas on spoon

“a little” and “a few ” to describe quantity

30th May 2019

graduation

Difference between “finally”, “at last”, “lastly” and “in the end”

22nd May 2019

maths symbols

Maths symbols and operations – English vocabulary

8th May 2019

people meeting

BACK as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb

29th April 2019

Online English lessons

English lessons with a native English teacher

IELTS tips

IELTS complete guide

IELTS complete guide (WITH EXAMPLE QUESTIONS)

1st September 2017

Bar Chart

Advice for IELTS writing task 1

19th July 2017

Smiling girl

IELTS speaking advice

18th July 2017

IELTS student Tatjana

How to pass the IELTS with a band 8

9th May 2017

IELTS student Andreea

How to get a band 8 in the IELTS

9th May 2017

Ad





Affiliate disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Additionally, CrownAcademyEnglish.com participates in other affiliate programs, and we sometimes get a commission from purchases made through our links.

Follow us on social media

Crown Academy of English on YouTube Crown Academy of English on Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · Crown Academy of English · Privacy Policy