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New2grammar Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

prefer

0I have a hard time figuring out the correct structure for prefer.02br
02br
00I 01b00prefer to02b00 look sexy01i00 02i01b00rather than02b00 be clever 02br
02br
00I 01b00prefer to02b00 look sexy 01b00than02b00 be clever02br
02br
00I 01b00prefer02b00 looking sexy 01b00than02b00 being clever02br
02br
00I 01b00prefer02b00 looking sexy 01b00better than02b00 being clever.02br
02br
00I 01b00prefer02b00 looking sexy 01b00to02b00 being clever.02br
02br
00Are they all correct grammatically? 02br
02br
00Thanks in advance!0-
  

Top answer

02font 02br 02br 01font 00I 01b 00prefer to02b 00 look ****01i 00 02i 01b 00rather than02b 00 be clever 02font 00OK, but I prefer not to omit 'to'. (ie01b 00 'to02b 00 be clever')02br 02br 01font 00I 01b 00prefer to02b 00 look **** 01b 00than02b 00 be clever02font 00 No02br 02br 01font 00I 01b 00prefer02b 00 looking **** 01b 00than02b 00 being clever 02font 00No02br 02br 01font 00I 01b 00prefer02b 00 looking **** 01b 00better than02b 00 being clever. 02font 00OK02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive 0-

— Clive

  • 02font 02br 02br 01font 00I 01b 00prefer to02b 00 look ****01i 00 02i 01b 00rather than02b 00 be clever 02font 00OK, but I prefer not to omit 'to'.
  • (ie01b 00 'to02b 00 be clever')02br 02br 01font 00I 01b 00prefer to02b 00 look **** 01b 00than02b 00 be clever02font 00 No02br 02br 01font 00I 01b 00prefer02b 00 looking **** 01b 00than02b 00 being clever 02font 00No02br 02br 01font 00I 01b 00prefer02b 00 looking **** 01b 00better than02b 00 being clever.
  • 02font 00OK02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive 0-
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15 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00I have a hard time figuring out the correct structure for prefer.02font02br
02br
01font00I 01b00prefer to02b00 look ****01i00 02i01b00rather than02b00 be clever 02font00OK, but I prefer not to
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0I thought I'd seen others in literature too. I could be wrong. I'll keep a close eye on this and may ask this question again if I come across a good example.02br
02br
00Thanks, Clive.0-
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0Hi New2grammar02br
02br
00The word 'prefer' is used with 'to' or 'rather than'. 01i00I prefer oranges to apples.02i02br
02br
00It is not correct to say that 01i00I prefer oranges than apples.02i02br
02br
01i00I would rather have oranges than apples02i00 is correct.02br
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0I thought I'd seen the other ones 05002br
02br
00I'll keep looking. Thanks for the reply, Yoong Liat!010id6
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0Hi New2grammar02br
02br
00If you're able to find similar examples to the ones you quoted, the sentences are definitely grammatically wrong. I'm so sure because, as I said earlier, 'prefer' can be used only with 'to' or 'rather than'.02br
02br
00Best wishes0-
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0OK. Thanks, Yoong Liat!0-
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0Hi,02br
02br
00I would also accept sentences like 02br
02br
01b00I prefer Coke01font01u00 over02u02font00 Pepsi.02b02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-
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0I agree. To add to what I posted earlier, 'prefer' can be used only with 'to' , 'over' or 'rather than'.0-
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0I'm so sure because, as I said earlier,01sup00 02sup01b01sup00'prefer' can be used only with 'to' or 'rather than"02br
02sup02br
02b00Hi Liat,02br
00As much as I like to agree with you, this is not a completely accurate statement. It's also correct to say " I 01b00prefer02b00 ham
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0Hi Goodman02br
02br
00As usual, you hadn't followed the thread closely. I forgot about 'over' and Clive said that 'over' could also be used with 'prefer'. Subsequently I posted the following.02br
02br
00I agree. To add to what I posted earlier, 'prefer' can be used only with 'to' , 'over' or 'rather than'.02br
02br
00Best wishes0-
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