the use of would rather

[BrunaBC]

Hi,

I'd appreciate if a native speaker could tell me whether the sentence below is natural or not.

Jane's father would rather she went to a better university.

I would say: Her father would like her to go to a better university.

Thank you.

[5jj]

Jane's father would rather she went to a better university.

I would say: Her father would like her to go to a better university.

Both of these are correct English, but they don't have exactly the same meaning. The first is closer to 'Her father would prefer her to go to a better university' than to your version.

[BrunaBC]

Thank you 5jj, I see the difference in meaning. But is this use of "would rather" usual?
It sounds quite strange -> He would rather you didn't go.

[5jj]

Thank you 5jj, I see the difference in meaning. But is this use of "would rather" usual?
It sounds quite strange -> He would rather you didn't go.

It's perfectly natural in my variety of English.

[emsr2d2]

It's very natural in BrE, certainly.

I'd rather you didn't do that.

Do you want to go to the cinema tonight?
I'd rather not.

Would you like to go to a One Direction concert?
I'd rather boil my head in oil!

[billmcd]

Both of these are correct English, but they don't have exactly the same meaning. The first is closer to 'Her father would prefer her to go to a better university' than to your version.

5jj: Don't you think BrunaBC's, original sentence should be, "..... would rather she go ....."

[Nehushtan]

The original sentence is correct (“… would rather she went …”).

[emsr2d2]

When I first read the original sentence, I thought about pointing out that we also use "... would rather she go ..." but then I thought about how often I hear that compared to how often I hear (and use) "... would rather she went ..." and decided against it.

He would rather she went to university.
He would rather she go to university.

[Nehushtan]

Some idiomatic constructions require the past tense even if the event described has not occurred yet. “Would rather …” is one example; another example is “it’s time …”: “It’s time she went to bed.”

[Tdol]

5jj: Don't you think BrunaBC's, original sentence should be, "..... would rather she go ....."

In BrE, the present subjunctive is on life support.