Prefer+..???

[ololol]

hello everyone
i ve got a question on the topic.
i know the common structures of prefer+gerund or infinitive but what about prefer+bare infinitive??
can anybody help me?
i am teaching in an ECPE class and i encountered in a test book tis structure.
in fact it was a m.c.q.

"do you want us to travel by bus?"
"no,i prefer you.............by train"
a.traveling
b.travel
c.to travel
d.will travel

the anwer given as correct is b.

PLEASE!!!can anyone help me so that i can help my students?it is really important fon me to know.it would be great if anyone could tell me which are all the possible uses of "prefer".
i m really looking forward to your replies

thank you in advance

[pyoung]

Originally Posted by ololol

hello everyone
i ve got a question on the topic.
i know the common structures of prefer+gerund or infinitive but what about prefer+bare infinitive??
can anybody help me?
i am teaching in an ECPE class and i encountered in a test book tis structure.
in fact it was a m.c.q.

"do you want us to travel by bus?"
"no,i prefer you.............by train"
a.traveling
b.travel
c.to travel
d.will travel

the anwer given as correct is b.

'b' is correct.

"Do you want us to travel by bus?"

"No, I prefer you travel by train." OR "No, I prefer that you travel by train."

traveling: "I prefer traveling by train."
to travel: "No, I want you to travel by train."
will travel: "I did not enjoy the bus trip. Next time we will travel by train."

Examples of the 'b' structure using other verbs:

"May we wait until tomorrow to return these books?"
"No, I prefer you return them today. OR "No, I prefer that you return them today."

"Should we give our presentations today?"
"No, I prefer you give them today." OR "No, I prefer that you give them today."

"May I leave now?"
"No, I prefer [that] you wait until evening."

I hope this is helpful,
Petra

[engee30]

Originally Posted by pyoung

'b' is correct.

I am of a different opinion about this. It should be c - to travel. The subject of the non-finite clause prefer tois always followed by the to-infinitive - prefer somebody to do something.
As for prefer that - it would also be possible, but this time the conjunction that should be retained.
The same applies to option a - travelling - it could be possible to use this form, but looking at the first sentence with want, I get the impression that the situation described in the two sentences refer to a future event of travelling, which somewhat determines the use of the to-infinitive rather than the ing-verb.

[RonBee]

I would say:

I prefer that you travel by train.

But you could also say:

I prefer you to travel by train.

[pyoung]

RonBee and Engee 30:

I agree with you that the sentence given as correct is not the best of all possible sentences. However, I have heard this (kind of) sentence before from articulate native speakers of English. I believe the formation is one wherein the 'that' is implied. Rhythm and stress make this sentence type understandable when spoken.
'To travel' is correct as well, but equally awkward. Since "I prefer that you travel by train" is, in my opinion, the best answer, I chose 'b' because it is a variant of that.
I appreciate your posts. Thanks for contributing your excellent ideas.

Petra

[BobK]

Originally Posted by RonBee

I would say:

I prefer that you travel by train.

But you could also say:

I prefer you to travel by train.

I agree with Ron, except that my personal preference would be the opposite.

Far from agreeing with Petra that the to+infinitive version is awkward I would prefer it. In Br English it is more common than '[that] you travel', although it is frowned on by the Subjunctive Preservation Society. (The US chapter of the SPS is much more active than the UK one.)

b

[pyoung]

Dear BobK:

Thanks so much for providing my first chuckle of the day.

I concede the question and limp from the field, dragging behind me the tattered standard of the Subjunctive Preservation Society.

All best wishes,

Petra

[ololol]

thank you all soooo much!
so it was a controversial issue after all!
thanks again!!