Forum anglais: Questions sur l'anglais
Tout ce qui a un rapport avec l'apprentissage de l'anglais: grammaire, orthographe, aides aux devoirs, phrases etc.
I'd rather like
Message de speedtiti posté le 16-04-2007 à 00:30:21 (S | E | F | I)
Hello,I've just found outan another use of "I'd rather". For me, "I'd rather" is like "I'd prefer" but in that case, how do you explain this sentence below :
- I'd rather like to know why ?
is it the same than as "I'd like to know why" ???
or the samethan as "I'd rather have known why" ???
In French, "on préfèrerait aimer savoir" doesn't make any sense, that is why I'm puzzled...
Thank you
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Modifié par lucile83 le 16-04-2007 06:23
Message de speedtiti posté le 16-04-2007 à 00:30:21 (S | E | F | I)
Hello,I've just found out
- I'd rather like to know why ?
is it the same
or the same
In French, "on préfèrerait aimer savoir" doesn't make any sense, that is why I'm puzzled...
Thank you
-------------------
Modifié par lucile83 le 16-04-2007 06:23
Réponse: I'd rather like de TravisKidd, postée le 16-04-2007 à 07:19:33 (S | E)
Hello speedtiti. I don't really understand your question.
"Would rather" is a special construction, coming from an archaic sense of "would" which once meant "would like to" (in French "aimerait" or "voudrait") -- so for example, one might have long ago said "I would have a coffee, please." -- and the word "rather" (in French "plutôt"). So, literally, "would rather" = "aimerait/voudrait plutôt".
The true sense of "would rather" is now the same as "would prefer", but it is important to keep in mind that "rather" is not a synonym for "prefer". (In fact, "rather" is not even a verb at all!) This leads therefore to differences in construction. In particular, "to" (the infinitive mark) follows "prefer" but not "rather".
I would rather go to the Louvre.
I would prefer to go to the Louvre.
Also, other tenses are constructed differently with respect to "rather" and "prefer", for example:
I would rather have gone to the Louvre.
I would have preferred to go to the Louvre.
And when comparing two things, one uses "to" with "prefer", but "than" with "rather".
I would prefer A to B.
I would rather A than B.
In fact English-speakers often make the mistake of assuming that "rather" means "prefer", and will sometimes say things like:
These last two sentences are not correct, and should not be remembered except in case you hear an English-speaker speaking incorrectly.
P.S. Quite interestingly, I have noticed quite a few French-speakers use "would" in its archaic sense. ("I would go in America !") At first I wondered if it was because they were learning too much the English of Shakespeare's time, but now I believe it's because they recognize the similarity between "would" and "voudrait" and try to translate it thus. (This similiarity, by the way, is not coincidental; "would" and "voudrait" are cognates (albeit false friends)!!)
Réponse: I'd rather like de mp27, postée le 16-04-2007 à 08:13:25 (S | E)
Hello speedtiti!
Je viens de lire les explications précédentes, qui te donnent une très bonne révision sur "I'd rather" et "I'd prefer"!
J'ai l'impression que ton problème sur la compréhension de: "I'd rather like to know why" --> vient du mot "rather"
- mot que tu as associé avec "I'd rather", d'où ta traduction qui, comme tu le dis, n'a pas de sens. Je n'ai pas non plus compris ton choix pour "on" (mais là n'est pas la question essentielle)
- Ici, il s'agit au point de départ de: I'd like to know why = Je voudrais savoir pourquoi.
- [I would like] --- what? -- [to know why] (the reason why you did that.... )
- "rather" a le sens de "plutôt" (de préférence), mais aussi, selon le contexte, "assez", "quelque peu", "un peu", "en quelque sorte"
- on a alors: "I'd [rather] like"..... et pas ..... I'd rather (= I'd prefer to) like to know why!
- Reviens donc sur: I'd like to know why --> "J'aimerais savoir pourquoi.
- Maintenant, essaye d'intégrer l'adverbe "rather", en rapport avec j'aimerais.
- Revois ce que j'ai noté au-dessus sur le mot rather et je te laisse juger sur ce qui conviendra le mieux pour le sens de la phrase.
Réponse: I'd rather like de whynot95, postée le 16-04-2007 à 08:42:50 (S | E)
Hello.
Je ne vois pas en quoi la phrase J'aurais préféré aimer savoir pourquoi n'est pas explicite!
Réponse: I'd rather like de TravisKidd, postée le 16-04-2007 à 16:13:37 (S | E)
Je n'ai pas vu "I would rather like to know why" dans la question originale. Dans ce cas je dirais que l'on utilise "would like" dans son sens moderne, et "rather" dans le sens de "en quelque sorte" (on pourrait donc remplacer "rather" par "kind of" ou "sort of").
Alors je le traduirais par "Je voudrais plutôt savoir pourquoi" et serais d'accord que "Je préférerais aimer savoir pourquoi" n'a pas beaucoup de sens.
Réponse: I'd rather like de speedtiti, postée le 16-04-2007 à 18:07:39 (S | E)
Hello again !
I wasn't in good shape when I wrote my question, of course I meant "Je préférerais" instead of "on préférerait"
...However, I'd rather like
to thank you all for your answers ! with a good revision of the grammar (I must admit I had forgotten some rules before...). And do you know what ? I haven't thought at all of 'rather' like 'kind of' ! it didn't seem to be easy at the first sight but now I've understood, I'll keep using it ! 
Thank you very much !!!
