两者接不定式时，可分别与than和rather than搭配，表示“宁愿...而不愿”，would rather...than与prefer...rather than的后半部分均接省去to的不定式。例如：He would rather work than play.他宁愿工作也不愿玩。He would rather be poor than get money in such a dishonest way.他宁愿受穷也不愿以这样一种不诚实的方法弄到钱。They preferred to die of hunger rather than take his bread.他们宁愿饿死也不愿接受他的面包。She prefers to be trouble rather than be taken care of by her parents.她宁愿有麻烦也不愿让父母照顾她。
prefer后能接名词或动名词作宾语，用动名词时，表示一个习惯性的动作。它也可与介词to搭配，表示“喜欢...而不喜欢。would rather则不能接名词及动名词。例如：Do you prefer coffee or tea?你喜欢咖啡还是茶？She prefers being alone.她喜欢一个人呆着。I prefer orange to red.相比于红色，我更喜欢橙色。He prefers reading novels to watching TV.相比于看电视，他更喜欢看小说。
prefer可跟带不定式的复合结构，而would rather则没有这种用法。例如：I prefer you not to come.我宁愿你不要来。I should prefer you not to stay there too long.我宁愿你别在那儿待得太久。
would rather和prefer后都可接从句，从句中要用虚拟语气：在would rather后的从句里，要用过去时态表示现在和将来，用过去完成时态表示过去； |
