At C2 in the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘would sooner’ means ‘would prefer.’ For example: They would sooner sacrifice numbers to save the people. TED The most common collocate or grammar structure related here is comparative ‘than’. For example: I would sooner resign than be forced to get the vaccine. Chicago Tribune on MSN.com A search in the NOW corpus for which infinitives are found next to ‘would sooner’ would […]
would sooner + INFINITIVE Read More »
At B1, in the English Vocabulary Profile, IT + BE + time + TO infinitive clause = something should happen: Is it time to go home yet? listen It was time to get back to work. listen Similarly, at C1, ‘time‘ can be premodified: I think it’s about time to make a deal. listen I think it is high time for me to get out of my house while I‘m still alive. Insidious: Chapter 3 At
would rather | it’s time + CLAUSE Read More »
A2 Verb Patterns expressing preference
love | hate | prefer + VERB-ing | to-INFINITVE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 61 in the categories of VERBS/patterns is defined: ‘would hate’ + ‘to’ infinitive, for emphasis. An iWeb search for: would hate to _VVI 1 WOULD HATE TO SEE 1982 2 WOULD HATE TO THINK 655 3 WOULD HATE TO LOSE 315 4 WOULD HATE TO GET 151 5
would hate to-INFINITIVE Read More »
“Would like” is a polite expression used to indicate a desire or wish, often in making requests, invitations, or offers. The structure typically follows “subject + would like + (noun phrase OR infinitive verb)”. For instance, “I’d like to see you again” or “Would you like a drink?”. The negative form, “wouldn’t like”, can imply a hypothetical situation, such as “If I told you, you wouldn’t like it.” This phrase is commonly used in various contexts, including wanting to see, know, thank, be, have, say, use, get, add, share, make, take, ask, try, hear, think, point out, give, start and go among others.
This blog post teaches how to express wishes and preferences using verbs like ‘like’ and ‘prefer’. It explains the difference between ‘I’d prefer’ and ‘I prefer’ and how to use ‘would’ to sound more polite and less confrontational. The post also explores examples of ‘would’ with verbs like ‘love’ and ‘hate’.
WOULD + love | prefer (politeness) Read More »
