would rather语法

“would rather do sth.”是英语中常见的一个固定惯用句式（美国英语中多用had rather）。would（或had）rather的缩写形式为’d rather。would (had) rather中的would并无过去的意思。该句式常用来表示选择的意愿，意谓“宁可……”、“宁愿……”、“最好……”。例如：

He’d rather work in the countryside. 她宁可到农村去工作。

If you’d rather be alone, we’ll all leave here. 如果你宁愿独自呆着，那我们都离开这儿。

You would rather stay at home and do some reading this evening. 今晚你最好呆在家中读点书。

would rather与than连用，可构成另一个惯用句式，即：“would rather...than....”，意谓“宁可（愿）……（而）不要（愿）……”、“与其……不如……”。用以表达主语的意愿，强调经过选择后做其中一件事，而不愿做另一件事。例如：

I would rather watch TV at home than go to the cinema. 我宁可在家看电视而不愿去看电影。

The children would rather walk there than take a bus. 孩子们宁愿步行去那里而不乘公共汽车。

在使用“would rather...than...”句型时，应注意以下几点：

1. than 后边也应接动词原形，但如该句型前后连接的两个动词相同，则than之后的那个动词可省去。例如：

I’d rather you know that now than afterwards. 我宁可你现在就知道这件事，而不是以后。

2. would rather...than...也可改写“would...rather than...”，其用法及含义仍不变。例如：

Facing the enemies, our soldiers would die rather than surrender. 面对敌人，我们的战士宁死不屈。

3. 有时，为了表示语气上的强调，还可将rather than置于句首，例如：

Rather than refuse to help you, I would borrow money from my friends. 我宁可向朋友借钱，也不愿拒绝帮助你。

4. would rather后可跟从句，表示主语宁愿让某人干某事。从句谓语动词用虚拟语气，即用一般过去时表示现在或将来要做的事；用过去完成时表示过去要做的事。如：

I’d rather she set out to do the work now. 我宁愿她现在就着手做这项工作。

I’d rather you met her at the airport tomorrow morning. 但愿你明天早上能在机场见到她。

I’d rather you hadn’t told him the news that day.

我真希望你那天没有把那消息告诉他。

5. would rather后接动词的完成式，表示主语要做某事，而结果事与愿违的意思。例如：I’d rather have left a note on her desk. 我本想留张字条在她书桌上的。（事实上没有留）比较：

I’d rather I left a note on her desk. 我宁可留张字条在她的书桌上。

一、would rather意思是“宁愿、宁可、更、最好、还是为好”，后接动词原形,常省略为’d rather，表示优先选择的一种方式。其否定形式是would rather not do sth。would rather没有人称和数的变化，所有的人称一律用would rather。“would rather+动词原形”是英语中常见的一个惯用句式，美国英语中多用had rather。would (had)在此决无“过去”之意，它是一个情态助动词，且无词性、时态变化。【例句】

Mr Li would rather not listen to rock music. 李先生不愿意听摇滚音乐。

If you’d rather be alone, we’ll all leave here. 如果你宁愿独自呆着，那我们都离开这儿。He’d rather work in the countryside. 她宁可到农村去工作。

You would rather stay at home and do some reading this evening. 今晚你最好呆在家中读点书。

二、如果在两者中进行取舍，表示“宁愿……而不愿……，与其……宁可……”的意思时，则可用would rather…than…或would…rather than…的句型。

【例句】

I would rather watch TV at home than go to the cinema. 我宁可在家看电视而不愿去看电影。

The children would walk there rather than take a bus. 孩子们宁愿步行去那里而不愿乘公共汽车。

请注意：

1）would rather…than…/would…rather than…也可以颠倒为：rather than…would…。Would(rather)和than后都接不带to的动词不定式，若选用的动词相同，那么than 后的动词可以省略。例I would rather have noodles than rice. 我宁愿吃面条也不吃米饭。He would rather drink wine than beer．他喜欢喝红葡萄酒而不喜欢喝啤酒。Rather than work in such bad condition, he would give up. 与其在这样差的条件下工作，他宁愿放弃。

2)使用would rather…than…句型时要注意“平行结构”，即在than 的前后要用两个同类的词或词组，如两个名词、两个不定式、两个介词短语等。例I would rather go to work by bike than by bus. 我宁愿骑自行车也不愿乘公共汽车去上班。I would rather talk with his mother than with his father. 我宁愿和他妈说话而不愿和他爸说话。

三、在疑问句式中，would rather 与would rather…than…中的would要放在主语之前。【例句】

Would you rather stay here or go home? 你愿意呆在这里，还是回家？

Which would you rather have, apples or bananas? 你喜欢吃苹果还是香蕉？

Would you rather read a novel than read a poem?你宁愿看小说而不愿朗读诗歌吗？