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Lucas21c Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

'would rather ~' vs ' may as well ~'

Could you tell me what the difference is between the following (A) and (B) in the following sentence? Although there is no difference in the sentence, if it doesn't mean that the meaning or usage of 'would rather' is the same as that of 'may as well', please give another example sentence showing the difference between them. Thank you.

If no one else wants it, we [ (A) would rather / (B) might as well ] give it to him.
  

Top answer

lucas21c the difference (A) If no one else wants it, we would rather give it to him. (B) If no one else wants it, we might as well give it to him. , we prefer to give it to him.

— CalifJim

  • lucas21c the difference (A) If no one else wants it, we would rather give it to him.
  • (B) If no one else wants it, we might as well give it to him.
  • , we prefer to give it to him.
  • , it will probably be just as satisfactory to give it to him as to do anything else with it.
  • lucas21c usage of 'would rather' is the same as that of 'may as well' They are never the same, as far as I've ever seen.
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7 Answers
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lucas21cthe difference
(A) If no one else wants it, we would rather give it to him.
(B) If no one else wants it, we might as well give it to him.
(A) ..., we prefer to give it to him.
(B) ..., it will probably be just as satisfactory to give it to him as to do anything else with it.
lucas21cusage of 'would rath
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Then, what it the difference between "I would rather give it to him" and "I had better give it to him"?
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lucas21cThen, what it the difference between "I would rather give it to him" and "I had better give it to him"?
Look at the first two lines of CJ's response and change 'we' to 'I'.
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lucas21cI would rather give it to him.
I prefer to give it to him.
lucas21cI had better give it to him.
It would be a good idea for me to give it to him.

CJ
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Then, how is "You would rather wait here than at the house" to be understood? You know, "You prefer waiting here to at the house" sounds very awkward because no one can read other's minds.
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lucas21cThen, how is "You would rather wait here than at the house" to be understood?
It seems most unnatural to me. Where did you see it?
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lucas21cYou would rather wait here than at the house
As a statement, I have to agree that it's unnatural.

I take it you're sure that it wasn't a question. Would you rather wait here ...?

CJ
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