what's the difference between I would rather and I would prefer let's find out hello this is Josh and welcome to English speaking 360 today we're going to compare two confusing Expressions would rather and would prefer we're going to take a look at the question form would you rather M or would you prefer M or M we're also going to take a look at the affirmative sentence or the positive sentence I would rather M I would prefer M we are also going to learn the contracted form the contraction I'd rather I'd prefer and finally the negative forms as well I'd rather not I'd prefer not and as usual don't forget to take the final quiz here is something you need to know would rather and would prefer are both used to give a choice for example would you rather go out or stay home you're giving a choice to someone would you prefer tea or coffee once again you're giving the person two options both are also used to make a choice not only to give a choice but also to select one of the options I would rather stay home or I would prefer coffee these two expressions are very very useful but what's the difference then let's find out together let's start with the easier one would rather it is often followed by the base verb but not all the time not always for example would you rather go out or stay home you see here would you rather go or stay these two verbs are base verbs I would rather stay home today or you can also say I would rather not stay home today if you want to go out I'd rather stay home today that's the contraction I'd rather stay home today or I'd rather not stay home today be careful however because would rather is never followed by two plus infinitive here's an example I would rather to stay home can you say that no you can't it's wrong because two shouldn't be there I would rather stay home also would rather is never followed by a noun for example I would rather home it doesn't make sense and one more thing that it's never followed by is a jarand a jarand is an ing verb that acts as a noun for ex example I would rather staying home you cannot say that either also you should know that would rather is more informal than would prefer so we use would rather very often in casual conversations this one is a little harder wood prefer wood prefer can be followed by two plus infinitive you remember would rather could not be followed by two plus infinitive here's an example would you prefer to drink tea or coffee would you prefer to drink would you rather drink ah but prefer you need the two in front of the verb I would prefer to drink tea I would prefer not to drink tea that's also a valid answer or you could go with I'd prefer the contracted form I'd prefer to drink tea would prefer can also be followed by a noun here's an example I would prefer coffee coffee is a noun so you don't need to have a verb there I would prefer coffee but notice that here there is no negative I would prefer not coffee doesn't really make sense would prefer can also be followed by a Jaren an ing verb I would prefer drinking tea I would prefer not drinking tea watch out however because would prefer is never followed by a base verb for example I would prefer drink tea you cannot say that if you want to say this you need to add two I would prefer to drink tea or if you want to keep it as is you can change prefer for rather I would rather drink tea then it's okay like I said before would prefer is a little bit more formal than would rather so people usually focus more on wood rather for casual conversations and W prefer for slightly higher level conversations sometimes they are the same would rather and would prefer can be the same so they have the same form when the subjects are different let me explain explain this so it's going to look like this subject would rather subject simple past and it's the same for would prefer the same form is applied to both when the subjects are different here are some examples I would rather you didn't eat in my car you see here I would rather you didn't eat in my car so here it's not the same person I would rather rather not eat in my car that's for me but here I would rather you didn't eat in my car different subject so you need the simple past here you have the negative simple past I don't want you to eat in my car I would prefer you didn't eat in my car same thing would rather would prefer same sentence we'd rather our kids spend more time Outdoors here you have the contraction we'd rather plus a different subject we and our kids two different subjects and of course you need the simple past spent we'd prefer our kids spent more time Outdoors it is the same now it's quiz time I'm giving you 10 questions let's do it number one she would rather a Beach vacation or she would prefer a Beach vacation think about it make your choice I'm going to help you here I'm going to say that a Beach vacation is a noun phrase so it's a noun okay with a noun we use she would prefer a Beach vacation the other one doesn't work she would rather go on a beach vacation would be okay question two I would rather you didn't call me at home I would prefer you didn't call me me at home which one is right here's a hint the subjects are different I and you you ready so you would say I would rather you didn't call me at home and you could also say I would prefer you didn't call me at home question three would you rather Sushi or steak would you prefer Sushi or steak which one is right here's a hint Sushi is a noun ready would you prefer Sushi or steak would you rather eat sushi or steak that would be okay as well question four oh my gosh winter camping it's definitely not for everyone I'd rather not going camping I'd prefer not going camping make your choice here's your hint go going is a gerend so you would say I'd prefer not going camping I'd rather not go camping would be okay question five I would rather eat alone tonight or I would prefer eat alone tonight think about it eat is a base verb so knowing this you can probably pick the right answer would rather I would rather eat alone tonight or if you want to use would prefer you could say I would prefer to eat alone tonight question six would you rather taking the train instead of driving or would you prefer taking the train instead of driving make your choice look at taking taking is what taking is a gerant an ing ver verb that acts as a noun so the answer would be would you prefer taking the train instead of driving if you do want to use rather you would say would you rather take the train instead of driving that would make sense also question seven I would rather we didn't talk about it I would prefer we didn't talk about it keep in mind here that you have two different subjects I and we so I would rather is good and I would prefer we didn't talk about it is also fine question eight he'd rather not to eat fast food or he'd prefer not to eat fast food watch out you have two plus infinitive here's the answer he'd prefer not to eat fast food if you want to use rather you would say he'd rather not eat fast food without the two question nine he would rather to go to Europe rather than to the US he would prefer to go to Europe rather than to the US here you have a two plus an infinitive and the answer is he would prefer to go to Europe rather than to the US rather than is a perfectly fine sentence here it's a good expression when you compare the two choices the two options that the person had question 10 would you rather have lunch at work or at a restaurant and would you prefer have lunch at work or at a restaurant here we have a base verb have so the answer is would you rather have lunch at work or at a restaurant if you want to use prefer you need to put two in front would you prefer to have at work or at a restaurant that would be perfectly fine good job guys don't forget to check out my other videos you are guaranteed to learn something new and if you want extra practice as usual go to my website englishspeaking 360.com see you next time bye-bye