“Would you rather…?” questions are a playful way to ask someone to choose between two equally appealing or unappealing options. This page explains the structure, usage, and key grammatical points to form clear and correct “Would you rather” questions.
Basic Structure
Form:
Use the fixed idiom “Would you rather” + base form of verb 1 (object/phrase) + or + base form of verb 2 (object/phrase)?
Examples:
- Would you rather eat broccoli or eat spinach?
- Would you rather live in a big city or live in the countryside?
In these examples, the verb “eat” or “live” is repeated for clarity. Often, you can omit the second repetition if it’s clear from context.
Key Grammatical Points
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“Would you rather” as an Idiom: The phrase means “do you prefer.” It must remain intact and is always followed by a base verb.
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Base Form of the Verb (Infinitive without “to”):
- Incorrect:
Would you rather to go to the beach or to stay home?
- Correct:
Would you rather go to the beach or stay home?
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“Or”: Use this conjunction to separate the two parallel choices. Always include “or” between the options.
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Parallel Structure: Both choices should be parallel (same grammatical form).
Parallel Verb Phrases:
- Would you rather sing in public or dance in public?
- Would you rather read a book or watch a movie?
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Implied Repetition: If both choices share the same verb, you can omit the second occurrence to avoid redundancy.
- Would you rather eat pizza or [eat] pasta?
- Would you rather live in a hot climate or [live] in a cold climate?
Variations and Common Usage
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Using “Be” for States or Adjectives: When choices involve adjectives or states of being, insert be before the adjective.
Would you rather be rich or be famous?
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Past Tense Hypotheticals (Less Common): Use this to imply regret or a choice about a past event.
Would you rather have gone to the party or have stayed home?
This structure suggests a choice that could have occurred in the past but didn’t.
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Short Responses: Often, for quick answers, people respond with just the verb or descriptive phrase:
- “Eat broccoli.”
- “Live in the countryside.”
Common Mistakes
Summary
To form a correct “Would you rather…?” question:
- Use the fixed idiom “Would you rather” to mean “do you prefer.”
- Follow with the base form of a verb (no “to”).
- Separate choices with “or” and keep them grammatically parallel.
- Omit repeated verbs in the second choice when they’re obvious from context.
- Use “be” for adjective/state choices and consider past-tense hypotheticals sparingly.
Practice by creating your own “Would you rather” questions to become familiar with the idiom and parallel structure.