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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

I would rather someone to do something

0 Hi,02br
02br
00I've got a little problem with this ... Is this sentence gramatically correct?02br
02br
00"I would rather you to reply to their letter".02br
02br
00I think it is, my teacher thinks it is not and says, that only "I would rather you replied to ..." is correct.02br
02br
00BrE;02br
02br
00Thanks a lot 0-
  

Top answer

0The first "to" doesn't belong there, at least in American English. I can't vouch for BrE. 0-

— BarbaraPA

  • 0The first "to" doesn't belong there, at least in American English.
  • I can't vouch for BrE.
  • 0-
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4 Answers
0
0The first "to" doesn't belong there, at least in American English. I can't vouch for BrE. I would keep it as "reply."02br
02br
00I want you to be the one who replies: I would rather you reply.0-
0
0
0------02br
00If I search for examples at Google Books for: 02br
01b00would rather you02b02br
00 normally requires a past, a past perfect or a conditional after it (all seen as subjunctive mood constructions)02br
02br
0500240hrefhttp://books.google.com/books?q=%22I+would+rather+you%22&lr=&sa=N&start=60
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0 See this from another site:02br
00------- 02br
00We'd rather you____the account tomorrow.02br
00 A.settled02br
00 B.settle02br
00 C.would settle02br
00D.will settle 02br
02br
00... 01b00both A and B are acceptable answers02b00, although 01b00many grammar 02
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0
0These examples from the BBC (thus BrE) show both past (i.e. in your case, replied) and infinitive (reply) usage, but the prescribed past seems to be in majority, thus I think your teacher is right for BrE:02br
01b002502b00 from 01b00bbc.co.uk02b00 for 01b00"I would rather you"02b02br
05002br
02br
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