VOA慢速英语2018--:关于英语偏好的各种表达

How to Talk About Preferences

Imagine that you are at a restaurant for breakfast. You want something to drink, but you are not sure what. When the server walks over to your table, he says:

Let me help. Do you prefer coffee or tea?

You answer:

I prefer tea to coffee.

You just told the server about a general preference. The server then makes a few suggestions about the teas available.

When we are given choices, there are special phrases we use to say which thing we like more than another. We call these choices “preferences.”

In our program today, we will show you how to use general and specific preferences. We have different phrases for each.

General Preferences

To begin, let's look at general preferences.

A general preference is something you like more as a whole. It is not tied to a specific event or time. It is simply a fact about your likes. For example, you probably like one style of music more than another style. And, you like one kind of food more than another food.

Phrases we usually use for general preferences are “prefer” and “like better.” They have the same meaning.

Prefer…

Let’s talk about the word “prefer” and hear the coffee and tea example again:

Do you prefer coffee or tea?

Notice that the word “or” is used in the question form. In the answer, we use the preposition¹ “to” or “over.”

I prefer tea to coffee.

I prefer tea over coffee.

As you might know, in English, when we answer a question, we do not usually answer with full wording. If asked about a preference, you can simply name the preference, like this:

I prefer tea.

Here is another example of a question and answer:

Do you prefer living in the city or the suburbs²?

I prefer living in the city.

In American English, “prefer” is a little more formal but still common enough to use in everyday speech.

Like better…

But Americans are more likely to use the phrase “like…better” when talking with others. We use the word “than” after this phrase. Here is how we do that in a question and answer:

Do you like tea or coffee better?

I like tea better than coffee.

Again, when answering, we usually only name the preference:

I like tea better.

Here is another example of a question and answer:

Do you like living in the city or the suburbs better?

I like living in the city better.

Notice that, in question form, the word “better” comes at the end of the question.

Specific Preferences

Now, let’s turn to specific preferences.

A specific preference is something you like or want more at a given point in time, either right now or in the future.

We use the expressions “would prefer” and “would rather” to talk about such things. These phrases have the same meaning.

Would rather…

Let’s look at the phrase “would rather.” It is much more common in American spoken English than “would prefer.”

For both phrases, we almost always use the short form of the word “would” with a personal pronoun⁴. We call the shortened⁵ form a “contraction⁶.” For example, the contraction of “I would” is “I’d.” When "would" is contracted, it looks and sounds just like the letter “d.”

Listen to the normal form and the contraction of “would rather.” With “would rather,” we use the word “than” in the response.

Would you rather go out or stay home?

I would rather go out than stay home.

I’d rather go out than stay home.

Again, we usually only name the preference in responses.

I’d rather go out.

And, if there is only one main verb after “would rather,” we do not say it two times. Here is an example:

Would they rather study French or English?

And the answer:

They’d rather study English.

Notice that the verbs “go,” “stay” and “study” are in simple form – the basic form without “to” before it or any letters at the end. After “would rather,” we always use the simple form of verbs.

Would prefer…

Just like “would rather,” we can use “would prefer” to talk about specific preferences. But, to Americans, “would prefer” sounds more formal and we do not use it often in speaking. Here is an example of a question and answer:

Would you prefer to go out or stay home?

I’d prefer to go out.

Note that, when Americans do use “would prefer,” we usually only name the preference, as in the example.

However, when the answer mentions both choices, Americans usually say it this way:

I’d prefer to go out than stay home.

The sounds of “would”

It may take time for you to become comfortable with the sounds of the contraction of “would” with personal pronouns⁷. It helps to pay attention to what comes after the d sound. If you hear the word “rather” or “prefer” afterward⁸, then you know someone is telling you about a preference.

And, I could say a lot more on this subject, but I’d rather end it here!

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

prefer – v. to like someone or something better than someone or something else

phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence

style – n. a way in which something is done, created, or performed

suburb³ – n. a town or other area where people live in houses near a larger city

formal – adj. suitable for serious or official speech and writing

comfortable – adj. causing no worries, difficulty, or uncertainty⁹

mention – v. to talk about, write about, or refer to in a brief way

1 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

2 suburbs   

n.郊区，城郊( suburb的名词复数 )；四乡；隧；四郊

参考例句：

• The poor suburbs traditionally formed the bedrock of the party's support. 贫穷的郊区在传统上构成了支持该党的牢固基础。
• The new college will be located in the suburbs. 这所新建的学院将设在郊区。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 suburb   

n.郊区，郊外，近郊

参考例句：

• Toward the suburb the houses begin to thin out.靠近市郊的地方房屋渐渐稀少。
• Disneyland is in Los Angeles suburb.迪斯尼游乐场在洛杉矶的近郊。

4 pronoun   

n.代词

参考例句：

• The relative pronoun is often dropped if it is the subject.关系代名词做受词时常被省略。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

5 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句

6 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

7 pronouns   

n.代词( pronoun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Relative pronouns and adverbs introduce attributive clauses. 关系代词和关系副词引导定语从句。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "I", "you"and "he" are all personal pronouns. I，you和he都是人称代词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。