rather/would rather

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I ask her why she hasn't remarried and she shakes her hands vigorously, "Oh no! That's not for me. I rather enjoy my freedom and independence."

Shouldn't it be 'would rather enjoy' instead of the words in bold?

Thanks.

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Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 551 • Replies: 13

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@tanguatlay,

Could somebody please help?

Thanks.

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@tanguatlay,

No, she is enjoying her freedom and independence now.

If she said "I would rather enjoy..." (note this is conditional) then it hasn't happened for her yet. It's referring to a future occasion, perhaps a hypothetical one.

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@tanguatlay,

Quote:

Shouldn't it be 'would rather enjoy' instead of the words in bold?

Yes, it should. "I rather enjoy" is not correct. I would rather enjoy my freedom.

1 Reply

@contrex,

Conti, with the greatest respect, that's bollocks.

1 Reply

@tanguatlay,

Quote:

Shouldn't it be 'would rather enjoy' instead of the words in bold?

Yes, it should. "I rather enjoy" is not correct. I would rather enjoy my freedom. I think McTag is mistaken. We can use "would rather" to express a preference in the present. I suspect the writer of the piece quoted meant to write "I'd rather". We can abbreviate "would" as 'd. It's easy to miss out an apostrophe and one letter.

I am here because I would rather (=prefer to) talk to you in person than call you on the phone.

I'm tired. I would rather not go out this evening, if you don't mind.

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@tanguatlay,

Quote:

I ask her why she hasn't remarried and she shakes her hands vigorously, "Oh no! That's not for me. I rather enjoy my freedom and independence."

Shouldn't it be 'would rather enjoy' instead of the words in bold?

It could be either, Ms Tan. 'rather' is an emphasizer, like 'really', so in this case, it could be,

"Oh no! That's not for me. I really enjoy my freedom and independence."

Of course, 'really' emphasizes more than 'rather', but 'rather' can also be used as understatement.

Quote:

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/rather?view=uk

used before verbs so as to make the expression of a feeling or opinion less assertive:
I rather think he wants me to marry him
we were rather hoping you might do that for us

Quote:

▸ adverb: to a degree (not used with a negative)

Quote:

(rûr, rä-) 6. Chiefly British Most certainly. Used as an emphatic affirmative reply.

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/rather

You might want to read the Usage note at that last link to help you sort out the different uses of 'rather'.

1 Reply

@McTag,

McTag wrote:

Conti, with the greatest respect, that's bollocks.

yes you're right. But that "I rather enjoy..." phrase is a bit old fashioned and posh which is what threw me I think.

2 Replies

@contrex,

I realised something about this when I was waking up this morning! Yes, really.

But I see, in the night, JTT has already put his finger on it, concerning the two meanings of the word "rather".

"I'd rather be a hammer than a nail": that signifies a choice.

"I rather enjoy having nothing to do": that is an intensifier, meaning I quite enjoy it. (And in Britain at least, that usage is usually intended as an understatement!)

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@JTT,

Perhaps you have in the past heard 'quite' used in this fashion, Ms Tan. It is the equivalent of 'rather'.

"Oh no! That's not for me. I quite enjoy my freedom and independence."

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@contrex,

Quote:

But that "I rather enjoy..." phrase is a bit old fashioned and posh which is what threw me I think.

It's not old fashioned, C. You simply failed to see that possibility. That's not at all an uncommon thing for native speakers. It didn't leap out at McTag with all the clarity of a mountain pool either. I initially glossed it as a missing ['d].

Google exact phrase - UK only
"I rather enjoy"
About 138,000 results

Interestingly, when I did a search for "I rather", UK only, some uses came up with the "strange" usage you initially saw.

Is there a new structure being formed in the UK?

Google exact phrase - UK only
"I rather"
About 1,190,000 results

I rather go blind

I rather join pages than groups

What should I rather wear for my interview

1 Reply

@JTT,

Quote:

I rather go blind

I rather join pages than groups

What should I rather wear for my interview

A new structure being formed in the UK? I sincerely hope not. These sound illiterate to me.

1 Reply

@McTag,

Quote:

A new structure being formed in the UK? I sincerely hope not. These sound illiterate to me.

You'd probably rather have needles stuck in your eyes, right, McTag?

Just consider all the illiterate things that you say viewed through the eyes of 19th century folks.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Quote:

Just consider all the illiterate things that you say viewed through the eyes of 19th century folks.

Au contraire, mon ami. English has slowly refined itself over the ages until it reached its current state of blissful perfection, as used by exponents such as I.

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