You can use the verb preferto say which of two things or actions you think is better:
Which would you prefer – tea or coffee?
I’d prefer coffee, thank you.
We use prefer when we think something is better than something else:
I prefer coffee = ‘I think coffee is better’
I prefer coffee to tea = ‘I think coffee is better than tea’
We use (woul)d prefer when we want something more than some- thing else:
I’d prefer coffee = ‘It would be better if you gave me coffee.’
Would you prefer tea? = ‘Would it be better if I gave you tea?’
1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1211 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 4211
Now look at these examples:
Do you like this hat or that one?
I like them both, but I prefer that one.
Notice that we put this in front of a noun when we want to talk about something that is near to the speaker, and that for something that is further away. So, if Anne is holding a red hat and Susan is holding a blue hat, Anne says this hatfor the red one and that hat for the blue one. For Susan it’s the other way round!
Now look at these examples:
Which tie do you prefer? – I like this one Which trousers do you prefer? – I like these Which hat do you prefer? – I like that one Which shoes do you prefer? – I like those
If the noun has already been mentioned, you don’t need to repeat it – you can use this/thatand these/thosewithout the noun, butyou have to put oneafter thisand that.
Exercise 10
Can you match each sentence on the left to one on the right that means the same thing? The first one has been done for you.
1 I prefer coffee a Please give me some coffee 2 I wouldn’t like coffee b I think coffee is nice
3 I’d like coffee c Please give me some coffee instead
4 I don’t like coffee d I think coffee is better 5 I’d prefer coffee e Don’t give me any coffee 6 I like coffee f I don’t think coffee is nice
Be careful! When the noun is plural, thischanges to these and thatchanges to those:
Singular Plural this hat these hats that hat those hats
Exercise 11
Choose the right word in brackets to complete each sentence. The first one has been done for you.
1 How much are (that/those) apples?
2 Do you like (these/this) watch?
3 (Those/That) people are from Bangladesh.
4 I think (this/these) are too expensive.
5 Would you like some more of (this/these) cake?
6 I like (this/these) jumper, but I prefer (that/those) one.
7 Shall we sit at (this/those) table?
8 (This/those) children are very noisy, aren’t they?
9 How much are (this/these)?
10 Would you prefer (this/those) restaurant or (those/that) one?
Dialogue 7
It’s a lovely day, and Brian and Susan are wondering where to go for lunch. Pay attention to the tags in this conversation.
SUSAN: You like seafood, don’t you?
BRIAN: Yes, I love it!
SUSAN: Well, why don’t we go down to the beach and have lunch there?
BRIAN: OK, let’s do that. Shall we ask Fiona if she’d like to come too?
SUSAN: No – Fiona doesn’t like the beach, does she?
BRIAN: Ah – no, you’re right. She doesn’t. Perhaps James would like to come with us?
SUSAN: Maybe. How about phoning him to ask?
BRIAN: Wait a minute. Let’s decide which restaurant to go to first, shall we?
SUSAN: I like the Jolly Roger – the food’s excellent.
BRIAN: Hmm, yes . . . but I don’t like their prices! How about trying that new restaurant, further up the road.
SUSAN: You mean the Ocean View? They specialise in shell- fish, don’t they?
BRIAN: Yes. I’d really like to give it a try, wouldn’t you?
SUSAN: OK, let’s go there. Shall we phone first to book a table?
1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1211 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 4211
BRIAN: That would be a good idea, wouldn’t it? It’s very popular at lunchtimes.
SUSAN: Right – why don’t you phone James, and then I’ll phone the Ocean View.
Exercise 12
Read Dialogue 4 again, and then decide whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).
1 Fiona wouldn’t like to come to the beach T / F 2 The Ocean View doesn’t do shellfish T / F 3 Brian doesn’t like seafood very much T / F 4 Brian doesn’t like the food at the Jolly Roger T / F
5 Susan is going to phone James T / F
6 Lots of people have lunch at the Ocean View T / F
Phrasal verbs
come along– ‘accompany’; ‘come with (other people)’. Do you want to come along?means ‘We’re going somewhere – do you want to come with us?’.
eat in– ‘have food at home’.
eat out– ‘have food in a restaurant, or anywhere away from home’.
end up– when we end up at a place, it means that we have visited several places, and this is the last one. We ended up in the curry housecould mean, for example, that we went to the cinema, then to the pub, and finallyto the curry house.
meet up– ‘meet by arrangement’. We met Keith, Greg and Carl usually means that we met them by chance– we weren’texpecting to see them;
We met up with Keith, Greg and Carlmeans that we had arrangedor agreedto meet them.
try out– when we try something out, we test it to see if it’s okay, or if we like it.
Idiom
• give it a trymeans ‘try it out’ or ‘see what it’s like’