后面直接接动原形，否定式在rather后加not。如：

He’d rather work in the countryside. 她宁可到农村去工作。

I’d rather not tell you about it. 那件事我宁愿不告诉你。

I’d rather not say anything. 我宁可什么也不说。

Which would you rather have, tea or coffee?你喜欢喝茶; 还是咖啡?

would rather. . . than. . . . 或would rather…than…表示“宁可（愿）……（而）不要（愿）……或“与其……不如……”。如：

I’d rather play tennis than swim. (=I’d play tennis rather than swim. ) 我宁愿去打网球而不愿去游泳。

注：当than后的动词原形与前面的动词原形相同时可以省去。如：

I’d rather go on Sunday than on Monday. 我宁愿星期天去而不在星期一去。

有时可将rather than置于句首来加强语气。如：

Rather than refuse to help you, I would borrow money from my friends. 我宁可向朋友借钱，也不愿拒绝帮助你。

后接从句时，从句谓语动词要用过去式，即表示现在或将来要做的事，用一般过去式，表示过去要做的事用过去完成时。如：

I would rather you came tomorrow. 我宁愿你明天来。

He’d rather you came on Friday. 他比较希望你在星期五来。

I would rather you didn’t mention the price. 我愿意你别提价钱。

I’d rather she sat (didn’t sit) next to me. 我愿意她坐(不坐)在我旁边。

I’d sooner (rather) you didn’t ask me to speak. 我宁愿你别请我讲话。

I’d rather you had been / hadn’t been present。我(宁)愿你当时在场 / 不在场。

I’d rather you hadn’t told him the news that day. 我真希望你那天没有把那消息告诉他。

I’d rather you had been / hadn’t been present。我(宁) 愿你当时在场 / 不在场。

would rather 接动词的完成式，表示主语要做某事，而结果事与愿违。如：

I’d rather have left a note on her desk. 我本想留张字条在她书桌上的。

If she’d had the chance, she’d rather have lived 100 years ago. 如属可能，她宁愿生活在100年以前。

“At that time, I would rather have been a factory worker than an animal keeper,”he said. “那时，我宁愿做一个工厂工人，也不愿做动物饲养员，”他说道。

If I’d lived in 1400. I’d rather have been a knight than a monk. 如果我生活在1400年，我宁愿当骑士，不当修道士。