prefer
verbVerb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they prefer | |
| he / she / it prefers | |
| past simple preferred | |
| past participle preferred | |
| -ing form preferring |
to like one thing or person better than another; to choose one thing rather than something else because you like it better 较喜欢；喜欢…多于… - prefer something
‘Coffee or tea?’ ‘I'd prefer tea, thanks.’ “要咖啡还是茶？” “我要茶，谢谢。” I would prefer it if you didn't tell anyone. 我希望你别告诉任何人。 A local firm is to be preferred. 选一家当地的公司更好。 A short-term fixed rate is the preferred option. 短期固定利率是首选。 - prefer something to something
I much prefer jazz to rock music. 我喜欢爵士乐远胜过摇滚乐。 I prefer quality to quantity. 我重质不重量 - prefer something over something
A few people still prefer landlines over mobiles. 一些人仍然更喜欢座机而不是手机。 Relevant experience is preferred over formal education. 相关经验优先于正规教育。 - prefer something + adj.
I prefer my coffee black. 我喜欢不加奶的咖啡。 - prefer to do something
I much prefer to travel by train. 我更喜欢坐火车旅行。 The donor prefers to remain anonymous. 捐赠者希望自己的姓名不被公开。 I prefer not to think about it. 我不想考虑此事。 She won't discuss her plans in detail, preferring instead to wait until after the election. 她不愿详细讨论她的计划，而是宁愿等到选举之后。 - prefer somebody/something to do something
Would you prefer me to stay? 你愿意我留下来吗？ - prefer doing something
I prefer playing in defence. 我喜欢打防守。 - prefer that… (formal)
I would prefer that you did not mention my name. 我希望你不要说出我的名字。
More Like This Consonant-doubling verbsConsonant-doubling verbsExpress Yourself Expressing a preferenceExpressing a preference 表达喜好 These are ways of stating what your preferred choice is. Note that we sometimes discount our own expertise or authority before expressing our preference: 面对选择时，表达自己更喜欢某事物，可用以下方式。需要注意的是在表达喜好之前，有时会先表明自己的选择并非代表专家或权威的意见： I like the red one better than/more than the green one. 比起那个绿色的，我更喜欢红的。
I prefer beef to lamb. 我喜欢牛肉胜于羊肉。
I'd prefer to wait here. 我宁愿在这儿等。
I'd rather go to the concert than the play. 与看戏相比，我更愿意去听音乐会。
I think I'd rather stay in than go out tonight. 今晚我想待在家里，不想外出。
I like swimming better than jogging. 比起慢跑，我更喜欢游泳。
I think that colour's much more attractive. 我觉得那种颜色好看多了。
It doesn’t really matter to me whether we eat here or go out. 我们在这儿吃还是出去吃，我真无所谓。
I don't really mind whether we talk now or later. 我们是现在谈还是以后谈，我不大在意。
I’m happy either way. （两个之中）无论哪一个我都乐意。
I don't really care either way. （这两个）我都无所谓。
If it were up to me, I'd choose the green one. 如果让我来选，我会选那个绿色的。
If you ask me, the old one looks better than the new one. 要问我的话，旧的那个看起来比新的好。
I’m not an expert but Design B seems more eye-catching. 我不是专家，但 B 设计似乎更抢眼。
Grammar Point want / like / love / hate / thinkwant / like / love / hate / think- These verbs belong to a group known as stative verbs because they describe a state rather than an action (although think can describe either an action or a state). Stative verbs are not usually used in the progressive tenses. However, it is becoming more common for some stative verbs to be used with progressive tenses. Stative verbs such as want, like, love, hate and think are sometimes used in informal language to describe a state at a particular moment, or a state that continues for a period of time:
Why are you wanting a new phone when your current one works perfectly well? 为什么你想要一部新手机，而你现在的手机工作得很好？ What shall we do tonight? I’m thinking bowling. 今晚我们做什么？我在想保龄球。 I’m loving the weather today! 我喜欢今天的天气！
Extra ExamplesTopics Preferences and decisionsa1Employers naturally prefer candidates with some previous experience of the job. 雇主自然比较喜欢有相关工作经验的求职者。 I greatly prefer this version. 我更喜欢这一版本。 I happen to prefer action movies myself. 我自己碰巧喜欢动作片。 I prefer his earlier paintings to his later ones. 比起他晚年的画作，我更喜欢他的早期作品。 Industries still tend to prefer virgin raw materials to recycled ones. 工业界仍然倾向于使用天然原材料，而非再生材料。 I would really prefer to teach girls. 我实际上更喜欢教女孩子。 We can eat out if you like, but I would prefer to stay in. 如果你喜欢，我们可以去外面吃饭，但是我更喜欢在家里吃。 You may simply prefer just to sit on the terrace with a cocktail. 你也许只是想坐在阳台上喝一杯鸡尾酒。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- greatly
- much
- overwhelmingly
- …
- would
- tend to
- appear to
- …
- over
- to
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French preferer, from Latin praeferre, from prae ‘before’ + ferre ‘to bear, carry’.- prefer something
Idioms
bring/press/lay/prefer charges against somebody
- (
law 法律 to accuse somebody formally of a crime so that there can be a trial in court 起诉；控告 Police have brought a charge of dangerous driving against the man. 警方以危险驾驶罪控告那名男子。 Many victims of crime are reluctant to press charges against their attackers. 许多罪案的受害者不愿意指控侵害他们的人。 She laid charges against the firm for not complying with the regulations. 她指控该公司不遵守规定。