Would rather en anglais : grammaire anglaise / définition
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Would rather
• I would rather (je préfère, je préférerais) s'emploie comme un auxiliaire de modalité : il est suivi de l'infinitif (sans le to) quand son sujet est le même que celui du verbe qui suit, et se présente quand on parle de ce que l'on préférerait faire.
I would rather (ou I'd rather) stay with you. Je préférerais rester avec toi.
What would you rather do instead? Qu'est-ce que tu préférerais faire au lieu de cela?
She'd rather not see me. Elle préfère ne pas me voir.
Wouldn't you rather stay on the beach? Ne préférerais-tu pas rester sur la plage?
• Would rather est souvent suivi du subjonctif prétérit quand son sujet n'est pas le même que celui du verbe qui suit. Cela se présente lorsqu'on parle de ce qu'on veut que quelqu'un d'autre fasse. (Il se conjugue comme le prétérit simple, to be excepté).
I'd rather (that) you came another time. Je préférerais que tu viennes à un autre moment.
She would rather (that) he weren't so angry Elle préférerait qu'il ne soit pas si énervé.
Bruno would rather (that) Icarus didn't stay so late at the office Bruno préférerait que Icarus ne reste pas si tard au bureau.
Remarque : Le verbe to prefer est un synonyme de would rather, même s'il connote un ton plus formel, impersonnel.
Exercice 1
Susie: I you didn't come to my office every time you made a mistake.
Kevin: Please don't be cruel. Do you me to go away? Is that what you want?
Susie: In a word: yes. Look, Connors, I'm trying to manage a department here.
Kevin: Fine. But while I'm here, you don't have a few dollars I could borrow, do you?
Susie: I lend money to an angry pitbull.
Kevin: Woof, woof.
Kevin: Please don't be cruel. Do you me to go away? Is that what you want?
Susie: In a word: yes. Look, Connors, I'm trying to manage a department here.
Kevin: Fine. But while I'm here, you don't have a few dollars I could borrow, do you?
Susie: I lend money to an angry pitbull.
Kevin: Woof, woof.
Susie: I would rather 1 you didn't come to my office every time you made a mistake.
Kevin: Please don't be cruel. Do you want 2 me to go away? Is that what you want?
Susie: In a word: yes. Look, Connors, I'm trying to manage a department here.
Kevin: Fine. But while I'm here, you don't have a few dollars I could borrow, do you?
Susie: I would rather 3 lend money to an angry pitbull.
Kevin: Woof, woof.
Kevin: Please don't be cruel. Do you want 2 me to go away? Is that what you want?
Susie: In a word: yes. Look, Connors, I'm trying to manage a department here.
Kevin: Fine. But while I'm here, you don't have a few dollars I could borrow, do you?
Susie: I would rather 3 lend money to an angry pitbull.
Kevin: Woof, woof.
1 would rather: We use 'would rather' in the same sense as 'to prefer'. Susie is saying that she 'prefers that Kevin did not bother her'. The 'would rather' construction is followed either by another verb in its infinitive form (I would rather stay awhile) or by a verb in the subjunctive past tense (as is the case here) when the statement is 'unreal' or 'hypothetical'. The subjunctive past is identical to the past simple with the exception of the verb 'to be'.
1 would like: We cannot use 'would like' in a construction such as this one. Usually 'would like' is used in affirmative statements. For example: 'I would like to visit your office more often'. If the sentence is negative, we use 'if' to connect the two phrases. For example: 'I would like it if you didn't come around here'.
1 wouldn't like: We cannot use 'wouldn't like' in a construction such as this. 'Wouldn't like' is not often followed by a personal pronoun (you). We could say, however: 'I wouldn't like to visit your office'.
1 feel as if: We cannot use 'feel as if' in a construction such as this. 'Feel as if' is usually used to express vague sentiments and not direct desires. For example: 'I feel as if the world is coming to an end'.
2 want: Kevin is asking a simple question of preference. In interrogative constructions, the subject splits the auxiliary and the main verb (in the infinitive form without 'to'): do you want.
2 rather: We cannot use 'rather' here without the auxiliary 'would'. We could say: 'Would you rather I went away?'.
2 like: We cannot use 'like' here without the auxiliary 'would'. We could say: 'Would you like me to go away?'.
2 feel: 'Feel' does not make sense in this context. 'Do you feel me to go away' does not make sense.
3 would rather: We use 'would rather' here to express Susie's contempt or disregard for Kevin's request. Susie is saying that she would prefer to give her money to a dog than to Kevin.
3 would prefer: We cannot use 'prefer' here followed by a verb which isn't in the full infinitive form ('to'). We could say, however: 'I would prefer to lend money to an angry pitbull'.
3 would like: We cannot use 'would like' followed by a verb without the infinitive marker 'to'. We could say, however: 'I would like to lend money to an angry pitbull'. This would not make sense in the context of this dialogue.
3 would feel: We cannot use 'would feel' to express a preference or a choice between two different actions.
Exercice 2
The following sentences use the verb construction 'would rather'. Some of them may be incorrect. Choose 'Correct' or 'Incorrect' for each sentence.
Wouldn't you stay rather home and watch a movie? =
I'd rather rent a car than see the city on foot =
She wouldn't rather talk to me =
Wouldn't you stay rather home and watch a movie? =
I'd rather rent a car than see the city on foot =
She wouldn't rather talk to me =
The following sentences use the verb construction 'would rather'. Some of them may be incorrect. Choose 'Correct' or 'Incorrect' for each sentence.
Wouldn't you stay rather home and watch a movie? = Incorrect 1
I'd rather rent a car than see the city on foot = Correct 2
She wouldn't rather talk to me = Incorrect 3
Wouldn't you stay rather home and watch a movie? = Incorrect 1
I'd rather rent a car than see the city on foot = Correct 2
She wouldn't rather talk to me = Incorrect 3
1 Incorrect: This sentence is incorrect. The secondary verb (stay) must always directly follow the construction 'would rather', even if it is in the interrogative form. The correct question should read: 'Wouldn't you rather stay home and watch a movie?'. The 'would rather' construction expresses preference in a polite way. 'I would rather' is synonymous with 'I would prefer'. 'Would rather' is called a 'modal auxiliary' in grammatical terms.
1 Correct: This sentence is not correct.
2 Correct: This sentence is correct. The 'would rather' construction expresses preference in a polite way. 'I would rather' is synonymous with 'I would prefer'. In this construction, 'would' forms a contraction with the subject pronoun 'I' to form 'I'd'. This type of contraction can be formed with all subjects (I'd, she'd, he'd). Be careful! 'Would' and 'had' look identical when contracted.
2 Incorrect: This sentence is not incorrect.
3 Incorrect: This sentence is incorrect. Unless the sentence is in the interrogative (question) form, the negation should follow 'rather', and not come after 'would'. The correct sentence should read: 'She would rather not talk to me'. The 'would rather' construction expresses preference in a polite way. 'I would rather' is synonymous with 'I would prefer'.
3 Correct: This sentence is not correct.
Exercice 3
The following sentences use the verb construction 'would rather'. Some of them may be incorrect. Choose 'Correct' or 'Incorrect' for each sentence.
Would you rather to go visit grandmother? =
He would rather to live in Japan =
She'd rather not to talk about her problems =
Would you rather to go visit grandmother? =
He would rather to live in Japan =
She'd rather not to talk about her problems =
The following sentences use the verb construction 'would rather'. Some of them may be incorrect. Choose 'Correct' or 'Incorrect' for each sentence.
Would you rather to go visit grandmother? = Incorrect 1
He would rather to live in Japan = Incorrect 2
She'd rather not to talk about her problems = Incorrect 3
Would you rather to go visit grandmother? = Incorrect 1
He would rather to live in Japan = Incorrect 2
She'd rather not to talk about her problems = Incorrect 3
1 Incorrect: This sentence is incorrect. The modal auxiliary 'would rather' is never followed by the full infinitive form of a verb (to go). The correct sentence should read: 'Would you rather go visit grandmother?'. The 'would rather' construction expresses preference in a polite way. 'I would rather' is synonymous with 'I would prefer'.
1 Correct: This sentence is not correct.
2 Incorrect: This sentence is incorrect. The modal auxiliary 'would rather' is never followed by the full infinitive form (to live). The correct sentence is: 'He would rather live in Japan'. The 'would rather' construction expresses preference in a polite way. 'I would rather' is synonymous with 'I would prefer'.
2 Correct: This sentence is not correct.
3 Incorrect: This sentence is incorrect. The modal auxiliary 'would rather' is never followed by the full infinitive form of the verb (to talk). The correct sentence should read: 'She'd rather not talk about her problems' or 'She would rather not talk to me about her problems'. The 'would rather' construction expresses preference in a polite way. 'I would rather' is synonymous with 'I would prefer'.
3 Correct: This sentence is not correct.
Exercice 4
Associate each of the underlined terms with the sense that they express in the text below.
Polly: It looks like it might rain today. You should close your windows.
Luna: When I was young, I could predict the weather.
Polly: Luna, I would rather that you kept your bizarre childhood memories to yourself.
In this dialogue might indicates .
In this dialogue should indicates .
In this dialogue could indicates .
In this dialogue would rather indicates .
Polly: It looks like it might rain today. You should close your windows.
Luna: When I was young, I could predict the weather.
Polly: Luna, I would rather that you kept your bizarre childhood memories to yourself.
In this dialogue might indicates .
In this dialogue should indicates .
In this dialogue could indicates .
In this dialogue would rather indicates .
Associate each of the underlined terms with the sense that they express in the text below.
Polly: It looks like it might rain today. You should close your windows.
Luna: When I was young, I could predict the weather.
Polly: Luna, I would rather that you kept your bizarre childhood memories to yourself.
In this dialogue might indicates possibility 1.
In this dialogue should indicates suggestion 2.
In this dialogue could indicates ability 3.
In this dialogue would rather indicates preference 4.
Polly: It looks like it might rain today. You should close your windows.
Luna: When I was young, I could predict the weather.
Polly: Luna, I would rather that you kept your bizarre childhood memories to yourself.
In this dialogue might indicates possibility 1.
In this dialogue should indicates suggestion 2.
In this dialogue could indicates ability 3.
In this dialogue would rather indicates preference 4.
1 possibility: Polly is talking about the chance or possibility that it will rain today. 'Might' often indicates uncertainty or chance. Example: I might get up early tomorrow, or I might sleep late.
1 preference: 'Might' never expresses a preference.
1 suggestion: 'Might' does not express suggestion in this context. However 'might' could express suggestion or a suggestion in a different context. Example: It you're still having problems, you might try re-booting your computer.
1 ability: 'Might' never expresses ability or capacity.
2 suggestion: Polly is giving advice to Luna, and suggesting that she close her windows because it might rain. 'Should' generally expresses strong suggestion. Example: You should hurry up and clean your office, Bruno is doing an inspection today.
2 possibility: 'Should' never expresses possibility. The modals which express possibility are 'might' and 'could'.
2 preference: 'Should' never expresses preference.
2 ability: 'Should' never expresses ability. 'Could' can be used to indicate capacity.
3 ability: Luna is talking about something she was able to do in the past (predicting the weather). 'Could' expresses ability or capacity as the past tense form of 'can'. Note that 'could' can also be used to indicate a conditional statement in another context.
3 possibility: 'Could' does not express possibility in this context. However, 'could' can express possibility in a different context. Example: If you need help, I could come to your house and we could work on the problem together.
3 preference: 'Could' never expresses preference.
3 suggestion: 'Could' never expresses suggestion.
4 preference: Polly is expressing that she prefers that Luna doesn't tell her stories about the past. 'I would rather' is a conditional statement which expresses preference.
4 possibility: 'Would' never expresses possibility. The modals which express preference are 'could' and 'might'.
4 ability: 'Would' does not express ability in this context. However, 'would' can express a regular action in the past. Example: When I was young I would steal candy from the drugstore.
4 suggestion: 'Would' never expresses suggestion. The modals which expresses 'suggestion' is 'should'.
Exercice 5
The terms pretty and rather can share a similar meaning, but they can also express something very different!
In the exercise below, you must decide whether "rather" and "pretty" are interchangeable in each sentence. If the second sentence in each pair is correct, select "interchangeable". If it isn't, select "not interchangeable"!
Ronald is pretty hungry --> Ronald is rather hungry:
That girl was very pretty --> That girl was very rather:
I'd rather die than work in accounting --> I'd pretty die than work in accounting:
Jimi's brother was rather unhappy --> Jimi's brother was pretty unhappy:
In the exercise below, you must decide whether "rather" and "pretty" are interchangeable in each sentence. If the second sentence in each pair is correct, select "interchangeable". If it isn't, select "not interchangeable"!
Ronald is pretty hungry --> Ronald is rather hungry:
That girl was very pretty --> That girl was very rather:
I'd rather die than work in accounting --> I'd pretty die than work in accounting:
Jimi's brother was rather unhappy --> Jimi's brother was pretty unhappy:
The terms pretty and rather can share a similar meaning, but they can also express something very different!
In the exercise below, you must decide whether "rather" and "pretty" are interchangeable in each sentence. If the second sentence in each pair is correct, select "interchangeable". If it isn't, select "not interchangeable"!
Ronald is pretty hungry --> Ronald is rather hungry: interchangeable 1
That girl was very pretty --> That girl was very rather: not interchangeable 2
I'd rather die than work in accounting --> I'd pretty die than work in accounting: not interchangeable 3
Jimi's brother was rather unhappy --> Jimi's brother was pretty unhappy: interchangeable 4
In the exercise below, you must decide whether "rather" and "pretty" are interchangeable in each sentence. If the second sentence in each pair is correct, select "interchangeable". If it isn't, select "not interchangeable"!
Ronald is pretty hungry --> Ronald is rather hungry: interchangeable 1
That girl was very pretty --> That girl was very rather: not interchangeable 2
I'd rather die than work in accounting --> I'd pretty die than work in accounting: not interchangeable 3
Jimi's brother was rather unhappy --> Jimi's brother was pretty unhappy: interchangeable 4
1 interchangeable: "Pretty" and "rather" are interchangeable here. They share a similar meaning to "quite" or "somewhat". This is the way in which the terms were used in Luna's e-mail. Example: "My new skirt was pretty expensive", "my new skirt was rather expensive".
1 not interchangeable: Sorry, but the two terms are in fact interchangeable in this context!
2 not interchangeable: In this context, "pretty" cannot be replaced by "rather". Here, "pretty" is used to mean "beautiful" or "attractive". It does not share a similar meaning with "rather" in this sentence. Example: "The theme for my birthday party is pretty shoes ".
2 interchangeable: I'm afraid that "pretty" and "rather" are not synonymous or interchangeable here.
3 not interchangeable: "Rather" cannot be replaced with "pretty" in this sentence. Here, "rather" is used as a comparative, and shares a similar meaning with "prefer". Example: "Most people would rather eat chips than salad".
3 interchangeable: The term "rather" cannot be replaced by "pretty" in this context.
4 interchangeable: In this context, "rather" can be replaced with "pretty", and the sentence has the same meaning. This is the same use of the terms as we read in the e-mail: meaning "quite" or "somewhat". Example: "Football is rather boring", "football is pretty boring".
4 not interchangeable: "Rather" and "pretty" are in fact interchangeable here.
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