prefer+gerund, prefer +to+infinitive

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be so kind to tell me which of the following sentences is right and which is wrong.

1. I would prefer to eat at home rather than go to a restaurant.
2. I would prefer eating at home to going to a restaurant.
3. I prefer driving to walking.
4. I prefer to drive rather than walking.
5. I prefer to drive rather than walk.

I think there is impossible to find a reason for the use of a given form: gerund or infinitive.

Thank you in advance for your efforts.

Regards.

V.

 

[Naamplao]

Dear teachers,

Would you be so kind to tell me which of the following sentences is right and which is wrong.

1. I would prefer to eat at home rather than go to a restaurant.
2. I would prefer eating at home to going to a restaurant.
3. I prefer driving to walking.
4. I prefer to drive rather than walking.
5. I prefer to drive rather than walk.

I think there is impossible to find a reason for the use of a given form: gerund or infinitive.

Thank you in advance for your efforts.

Regards.

V.

All are correct. "Prefer" is one of those verbs that take both a gerund and an infinitive.

 

[David L.]

#4 is incorrect. It should be, I prefer to drive rather than walk. A native speaker would be more likely to put it, I prefer to drive (to school) than walk (there). Else, it might be, I prefer driving to walking.

Are you then asking, when each of the forms might be used rather than one of the other ways of expressing the same idea?

 

[Naamplao]

#4 is incorrect. It should be, I prefer to drive rather than walk. A native speaker would be more likely to put it, I prefer to drive (to school) than walk (there). Else, it might be, I prefer driving to walking.

Are you then asking, when each of the forms might be used rather than one of the other ways of expressing the same idea?

I agree grammatically this may wrong due to lack of parallelism.

I prefer to drive rather than (to) walk.

But in speaking English I have certainly heard it said, I prefer to drive rather than walking.

Also the gerund form of walk can replace the infinitive form and fill the same function in the sentence.

 

[vil]

Hi Naamplao,

Thank you for your affirmative reply.

Regards.

V.

 

[vil]

Hi David L.

Thank you for sharing your private opinion concerning the examples in my original post. I would manifest my humble opinion.

It is most likely that you have been forgotten the following rule in the English Grammar.

It is sometimes possible to find a reason for the use of a given form. With some verbs and word-groups, such as to be afraid, to forget, to hate,to like, to dislike, to prefer the infinitive is mostly used with reference to a special occasion, the gerund being more appropriate to a general statement.

You demonstrated the truth of this assertion with your lovely examples:

"I prefer to drive (to school) than walk. (there). (this is a special occasion)

"I prefer driving to walking. (this is a general statement)

Thank you for your attention.

Regards.

V.

 

[vil]

Hi Naamplao,

Thank you for your perseverance and consistency.

I hope, you have grasped the meaning of my original post. I gave a gentle hint concerning the universality of the English language.

Thank you for your empathy.

Regards.

V.

 

[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

 

[C.Cal.]

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

Here are some ways to use "prefer":

1) subject + prefer + to infinitive [+ any other things like preposition, objects, etc] {+ [rather] than + [to] infinitive [+ any other things like preposition, objects, etc]}.
2) subject + prefer + gerund [+ any other things like preposition, objects, etc] {+ to + gerund [+ any other things like preposition, objects, etc]}.
3) subject + prefer + object {+ to + object}.
4) subject + prefer [+ that] + full clause.

Note: You may delete the stuff inside "[ ]" and "{ }", depending on the situation.

In your example, "I prefer you.............by train" follows rule 4 and, thus, b is the answer.

Hope the above helps. Please kindly correct me is I have made any mistakes.

 

[Daruma]

Here are some ways to use "prefer":

1) subject + prefer + to infinitive [+ any other things like preposition, objects, etc] {+ [rather] than + [to] infinitive [+ any other things like preposition, objects, etc]}.
2) subject + prefer + gerund [+ any other things like preposition, objects, etc] {+ to + gerund [+ any other things like preposition, objects, etc]}.
3) subject + prefer + object {+ to + object}.
4) subject + prefer [+ that] + full clause.

Note: You may delete the stuff inside "[ ]" and "{ }", depending on the situation.

In your example, "I prefer you.............by train" follows rule 4 and, thus, b is the answer.

Hope the above helps. Please kindly correct me is I have made any mistakes.

Is the "is" a typo for "if"?

 

[David L.]

Yes.