Expressing preference
We usepreferto say we like one thing or activity more than another. We can use a prepositional phrase withtowhen we compare two things or actions:
Ipreferteatocoffee.
Weprefergoing by ferrytoflying.
We don’t usethanafterprefer:
Sheprefersbookstomagazines.
Not:She prefers books than magazines.
We can use ato-infinitive or an-ingform afterprefer. Ato-infinitive is more common.
She’s not keen on coffee. Sheprefersto drink tea.(orSheprefersdrinking teatocoffee.)
Would prefer
We usewould preferor’d prefer, followed by ato-infinitive or a noun, to talk about present and future preferences:
I’dpreferto go by myself.
Would you prefera quieter restaurant?
She’dprefernot to drive at night.
When we want to say that we would like to do one thing more than another, we can introduce the second thing withrather than, followed by an infinitive withoutto:
I’d preferto go skiing this yearrather thango on a beach holiday.
When we are talking about our preferences for the actions of another person, we can usewould prefer+ object pronoun +to-infinitive orwould prefer it if+ past simple:
They’d preferus to come later.(orThey’d prefer it ifwe came later.)
Wouldyoupreferme to drive?(orWouldyouprefer it ifI drove?)
See also:
Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing?
Hate,like,loveandprefer
Would like
Typical errors
We use ato-infinitive afterprefer, not an infinitive withoutto:
Ipreferto drive.
Not:I prefer drive.
Whenever I have time I like to read but Iprefernot to read in the evening.
Not: …but I prefer not read in the evening.
We make comparisons usingtoorrather than, not justthan:
A lot of young peopleprefercomputer gamestofootball.(orA lot of young people prefer computer gamesrather thanfootball.)
Not:A lot of young people prefer computer games than football.