Modal of Preference Would Rather and
Other Expressions of Preference. >> I'm so
glad we're finally on break, guys. >> I know!
We have a whole week off to go anywhere we want. >> We can finally plan our trip. >> Yeah, I can't wait to lie
on a beautiful beach and go surfing, like in Hawaii! >> That sounds nice, but
I like the snow better than the water. Can't we go snowboarding instead,
perhaps in Colorado? >> But I like warm weather
better than cold weather. >> Pink,
would you rather go to Colorado or Hawaii? You can make the decision since Gray and
I can't agree. >> Ok, well, I prefer snowboarding to
surfing, but I've never been to Hawaii. >> So you pick Hawaii? >> Well, I'm not sure. You see, I would love to visit Hawaii some
day, but I think I would rather play in the snow, rent a nice little cabin,
and drink hot chocolate by the fire. Doesn't that sound nice? >> Yes, it does. All right. So you pick Colorado. Great! >> Never mind! I'd rather go to Hawaii than Colorado. >> Yes! >> Ugh! >> Hi, in this lesson you will learn how
to use different expressions to show what your preferences are. In other words,
what you'd like more than something else. Let's look at the preferences
expressed in the conversation. I prefer snowboarding to surfing. I like snow better than the water. I like warm weather
better than cold weather. I would rather play in the snow. I'd rather go to Hawaii than Colorado. Would you rather go to Colorado or Hawaii? As you can see Gray, Pink, and Blue were
all able to express their preferences between going to Hawaii or Colorado. But they did it using different types
of expressions, including the phrase or modal, would rather. Let's first start with
the use of the verb, prefer. I prefer snowboarding to surfing. The structure used here was prefer,
-ing verb, to, -ing, verb. Notice the preposition to. When you use prefer to compare
two actions or activities, you must use the preposition to. Why don't you try? Answer this question. Do you prefer singing or dancing? If you like singing more, you would say,
I prefer singing to dancing. If you like dancing more, you would say,
I prefer dancing to singing. Now let's move on to using like. In the conversation we heard,
I like the snow better than water. I like warm weather
better than cold weather. Do you see a pattern? When you use like, you use better than. This structure can be used to compare
two nouns, as we see in these examples. Snow to water,
warm weather to cold weather, but it can also be used to compare two
actions or activities using -ing verbs. Let's try each form. Look at this image. We could say,
the chick likes worms better than seeds. How about this one? The chick likes being with
family better than being alone. So with like, remember to use better than. Now I would like to talk about would
rather, a modal to express preference. Because would rather is a modal, we always use it followed by
the base form of a main verb. You can use would rather plus a main
verb to state what you prefer, like when Pink said,
I would rather play in the snow. When you use would rather to
compare two options, use than. We saw this when Pink said,
I'd rather go to Hawaii than Colorado. Hm, did you notice something
strange about this last sentence? Instead of I would, it says, I'd. I'd is a shortened form or
contraction, and contractions are very commonly
used in conversations. So instead of using the longer form,
try using the shortened contractions. Now you know how to express preference
using the phrase and modal, would rather. But how would you ask someone a question
about their preferences using would rather? Well, how did Blue do it? She said to Pink,
would you rather go to Colorado or Hawaii? What changed from the statement form? Well, would and the subject of
the sentence, you, were switched. Easy, right? Can you use would rather to ask
me what my preferences are? Take a look at these options. Number one, travel alone or with friends. Number two, cook at home or eat out. Well, you could ask me questions. You could ask, would you rather
travel alone or with friends? Would you rather cook at home or eat out? Well, here are my answers. For number one, I'd rather travel
with friends than travel alone. And number two, I'd rather eat out,
ha ha and not have to clean. Great.
So you know now how to use would rather, but how would you use this
modal in the negative? Just use not. Just add not after would rather and
before the main verb. Can you tell me what I mean when I say, I would rather travel with
friends than travel alone? Does this mean A, I would rather
not travel with friends, or B, I would rather not travel alone. Hm. The answer is B. A is incorrect. How about this sentence? I would rather eat out than eat at home. Does this mean A, I would rather not eat
out, or B, I would rather not eat at home? The correct answer is A. B is incorrect. So, let's do a quick review. Let's use better than, to, and
than to complete the sentences. Remember, prefer is used with to, like is used with better than, and
would rather is used with than. Can you express sentence
number three using would rather in the negative form? Yes, it would be, we would rather not go to the theater. Nice job.
