RATHER - RATHER THAN - WOULD RATHER

RATHER:

'Rather' is an adverb of degree like ‘fairly’, ‘quite’, etc. that can be used with nouns, adverbs, adjectives and superlatives.

• That’s rather a nuisance!
• He cooks rather well.
• She’s got a rather nice voice.
• That’s rather more than I expected to pay.

OR RATHER :

When we want to correct what we have just said, or make it more precise, we often use the expression ‘or rather’.

• His son is a doctor, or rather, a surgeon.
• She is a stylist, or rather, a fashion designer.

To talk about preferences there are two structures: 'rather than' and 'would rather'.

RATHER THAN :

• It would be better to go in September rather than in August.
• I prefer to leave now rather than wait for all the speeches.
• The customer decided to write rather than telephone.
• Stella decided to call her boyfriend rather than send a text message.

WOULD RATHER :

The expression ‘would rather’ is followed by the bare infinitive (the infinitive without ‘to’).

• Would you rather live here or go back to London? I’d rather live here.
(= I would prefer to live here.)
• I don't want to go to the swimming pool. I’d rather go to the beach.
(= I would prefer to go to the beach.)

When one person would prefer another person to do something, ‘would rather’ is generally followed by a past tense.

• Don’t come on Monday. I’d rather you came on Tuesday.
• Don't take the car. I'd rather you took the bus.

To express regret about something that has already happened, ‘would rather’ is followed by the past perfect.

• I’d rather you hadn’t done that = I wish you hadn’t done that.
• I'd rather you hadn't taken the car.= I wish you hadn't taken the car.

-ING forms:
When the main clause has a verb in the –ing form, ‘rather than’ can be followed by –ing.

• I prefer getting up early rather than rushing at the last minute.
• I prefer walking to the station rather than taking the bus.