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MarvinTheMartian Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Use of "would rather"

0Hi, please read the following text and tell me what you think:02br
02br
00"Please don't come. I'm indisposed at the moment. I have a chronic disease and I'd rather you only saw me when I'm well [or] I'd rather you didn't see me when I'm ill."02br
02br
00This is what I would normally say if I were afflicted with such a disease. However, after running a Google search, I found no record of either of the last two sentence structures. I'm aware that Google, like so many search engines, offers limited and often unreliable information... Nevertheless, I'm beginning to question my verbal skills...0-
  

Top answer

0Curious about what chronic diseases are, I did a Google search and found the following02br 02br 01a 05000 02a 02br 02br 00They all sound pretty serious. I hope you are OK. articlekey=33490

— New2grammar

  • 0Curious about what chronic diseases are, I did a Google search and found the following02br 02br 01a 05000 02a 02br 02br 00They all sound pretty serious.
  • I hope you are OK.
  • articlekey=33490
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20 Answers
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0Curious about what chronic diseases are, I did a Google search and found the following02br
02br
01a05000 02a02br
02br
00They all sound pretty serious. I hope you are OK. 0240hrefhttp://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=33490
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0No need to worry! I'm not sick! 05000 My example is purely hypothetical. I'm just surprised that I couldn't find any constructions like "I'd rather you only see / saw me when I'm well" on Google. Hence my confusion.010id2
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0 The 01u00past tense02u00 is used when there are 01font00two subjects02font00:02br
01i01font00I'02font00d rather 01font00you02font00 01u00wen02u00t there.02i02br
00But: 01i0
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0Hi,02br
02br
00If you don't want me to come because you have a chronic disease, it sounds to me like you never want me to come. ie If it's chronic, it will continue to get worse, so will there ever be a good time in the future to come?02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-
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0Thanks, everyone. Clive, to answer your question, I read somewhere that "chronic" can also be used to refer to a recurring condition, i.e. a disease that comes and goes. If so, would it be correct to say "I'd rather you don't / didn't see me when I'm sick" (i.e. when I'm having a fit or whatnot) or "I'd rather you only see / saw me when I'm well" (meaning: "during the periods when I'm well.") B
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00Being a proud person, I know I would probably not want to be seen when in pain if I had such a disease. (On an unrelated note, is it just me, or is that last sentence a bit awkward-sounding? (i.e. "Being a proud person, etc.") 02font00No, it's fine.02br
02br
00Clive0-
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0Thanks, Clive. I wasn't sure. Would the following sentences also have been acceptable?02br
02br
00"Being a proud person, I know I would probably not want to be seen 01i00when I'm02i00 in pain if I had such a disease."02br
02br
00"Being a proud person, I know I would probably not want to be seen 01i00when I was02i
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0Hi,02br
02br
00Hi,02br
02br
01font00Would the following sentences also have been acceptable?02font02br
02br
01font00"Being a proud person, I know I would probably not want to be seen 01i00when I'm02i00 in pain if I had such a disease."02font
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0"I'd rather you only saw / see me when I'm well" 02br
02br
00"I'd rather you didn't / don't see me when I'm ill."0-
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1blockquote
01cite10MarvinTheMartian12cite12br
10"I'd rather you only saw 11del10/ see12del10 me when I'm well" 12br
12br
10"I'd rather you didn't 11del10/ don't12del10 see me when I'm ill."12br
12blockquote
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