On Screen WB p 15. Would rather/ sooner

would rather/ sooner

To refer to the present or future
would rather/ sooner + bare infinitive is used for current, general or future preference.

She'd rather not borrow any money from you.
I'd rather stay at home tonight than go to the cinema

If the subject of would rather/sooner is not the same as the subject of the verb which follows, the past simple/continuous is used.

Jan would rather/sooner we bought a house than carried on renting.
Would you rather/sooner I was begging in the streets?

To refer to the past

would rather/ sooner + perfect infinitive is used for past preference.

We stayed in a hotel but I'd sooner have slept in a tent

If the subject of would rather/sooner is not the same as the subject of the verb which follows, the past perfect is used.
Would you rather I hadn't said anything about it to Matt?

Objective Proficiency p 87. Wishes and Regrets. Speaking

1. MONOLOGUE. Prepare a talk of AT LEAST 5 minutes on the subject. You may use the pictures above and the contents below if you wish:
1. Something you think it's time the Town Council did to improve your town.
2. Something you'd sooner it had never been discovered or invented. Why?
3. Something you wish you had learnt to do but still can’t do. 
4. Something you regret having done this month. 
5. What do you wish Spanish television programmes were like?
6. What would you love to say to an important person in politics.
7. What mistakes did you make when you were young that you shouldn't have made?
8. What do you think it's high time people in Spain didn't do and what it's about time they started to do? 
9. What  regrets do people have when they get old?
10. Can you think of some of your own regrets?

You may make some notes for your talk to take into the exam. These should not exceed five lines.

2. INTERACTION

In this part of the test, the examiner will ask you some questions about the TOPIC. This part of the examination will last AT LEAST 5 minutes. You will not see the questions below.

________________________________________

TEACHER'S QUESTIONS

1. Work out who might have expressed the following wishes and regrets:

• I wish I hadn’t cut my ear off.
• I regret having cheated on my wife at the White House.
• I'd rather have married Camilla instead.
• If I hadn’t invaded Russia...
• I shouldn't have eaten that apple.
• If only I hadn’t gone to Dallas.
• I would have preferred not to have spent 27 years in a South-African prison.
• I would have loved to have seen that iceberg.
• I would have liked not to have married Prince Charles.
• I'd sooner not have flown so close to the sun.
• I wish I hadn’t held the Spanish Parliament at gunpoint on 23 February 1981.
• I would have preferred not to give the order to drop the Atomic bomb over Hiroshima.
• I'd rather not have sent the Armada to Britain.

2. Talk about:

• A famous singer you wish you had seen in concert.
• A foreign language you would like to be able to speak apart from English.
• Something you would rather a member of your family didn't do.
• A very expensive possession you would love to have.
• A quality you would rather have.
• A famous person you wish you could meet.
• A sport you would like to be very good at.
• An aspect of your personality you'd sooner change.
• Something you regret having bought.
• The number of brothers or sisters you'd sooner have had.
• When you would have liked to have been born.
• A country you wish you had been born and bred in.

Objective Proficiency p 87. Expressing Wishes and Preferences. Key Word Transformation

KEY
1. you stood up for your rights / for yourself



2. you stopped behaving as though you were



3. they carried out



4. would / 'd rather all students wrote



5. I hadn't splashed out



6. he had / he'd let me know



7. she had been aware of the strength / she had known the strength



8. would / 'd rather you took off / you didn't wear

Objective Proficiency p 86. Dream It, Wish It, Do It. Extra Quotation

Objective Proficiency p 86. I Wish Vs I Will. Extra Quotation

Objective Proficiency p 86. Vocabulary

Ex 1

• Wise up (to something): (informal) to become aware of the unpleasant truth about a situation. Espabilar, pensar un poco. E.g. Wise up, think global.
• Slate: a type of dark grey stone that splits easily into thin flat layers. Pizarra. E.g. a slate quarry (/ˈkwɒri/ cantera).
• Whisk somebody/something + adverb/preposition:  to take somebody/something somewhere very quickly and suddenly. E.g. Jamie whisked her off to Paris for the weekend. The waiter whisked away the plates before we had finished. 

Do you think this is a true story?



KEY
This extract is from an English newspaper and is a true story. 

Suggested answers
a. using "embarrassed":


 
I wish they wouldn't look so embarrassed.
 


b.  using "speak":



I wish I could speak to them.
 

c.  using "interpreter":



I wish the interpreter was/were here.
 

d.  using "end":




I wish this meal would end.
 


e.  using "say something":



I wish someone would say something.

Ex 2

Answers
 

a the past simple
 


b the past perfect
 


c would - be careful with this, it can't be used when the subject is repeated, i.e. you can't say I wish I would ...


Ex 3
KEY



If only and I wish have more or less the same meaning.
Some people believe If only is slightly stronger / more formal in tone. 


Corpus spot
Answers
a I do hope ...




b I wish I could suppress...
 


c She wishes she were / could be
 


d I hope you like
 


e I hope you have
 


f they had allowed us
 


g he wishes he were able to/could remember / he remembered
 


h hope 



i her children were
 


j they would stop smoking
 


k I wish there could always be / I hope there will always be
 


i hoping 

Ex 4


Possible answer
For my family, there is nothing more I could wish for - we are all quite happy as we are. However, for my studies, I wish I could concentrate in class more and also that I had a photographic memory. I wish my country had a better public transport system and also that everyone went to a state school and we had a fully socialist system. I wish the world were a happier place and that poverty had
been eradicated, along with wars and disasters.




Ex 5
It's about time and It's high time are slightly stronger than It's time. Note that I'd rather is never used with prefer as in I'd rather prefer.
Answers
 

a to go 



b you went 



c spend 



d left / had left
 


e had given 




f he did 



g she took