El “bare infinitive” o infinitivo sin “to”: would rather y had better

Lección 42

WOULD RATHER / HAD BETTER

Audio lección 42 de InglésLección 42 de Inglés

 
LESSON FORTY TWO(leson forti tu)Lección cuarenta y dos
VOCABULARY(vokebiulari)Vocabulario

El “bare infinitive” o infinitivo sin “to”: would rather y had better:

El infinitivo sin “to” (bare infinitive) se denomina así porque carece de la partícula “to”: (to) work. Esto genera una posible confusión con la forma del presente del verbo. Al tratarse de un infinitivo, aunque sin “to”, esta forma verbal siempre acompaña a otro verbo y los dos hacen referencia al mismo sujeto:

Ejemplos:

He made me write the essay again.

Él me hizo escribir el ensayo de nuevo

She helped me carry the bags upstairs.

Ella me ayudó a llevar las maletas arriba.

Este tipo de infinitivo aparece en algunas estructuras muy específicas del inglés:

1. Con los verbos make y help

2. Con las expresiones “would rather” ( = would prefer) y “had better” (= should)

Would rather

Normalmente, esta expresión se emplea con un sujeto de la primera persona del singular, dado que se trata de una preferencia:

I’d rather stay at home and sleep this weekend.
Preferiría quedarme en casa y dormir este fin de semana.

Pero también podemos utilizarla con otros sujetos:

My husband would rather spend his holiday in the States.
Mi marido preferiría pasar sus vacaciones en Estados Unidos.

La versión negativa de esta expresión es would rather not:

I’d rather not go out tonight. I’m exhausted.
Preferiría no salir esta noche. Estoy agotado.

Para expresar una preferencia que implica a otra persona, utilizamos la siguiente estructura:

Sujeto1 + would rather + sujeto2 + past tense

I’d rather you came to the party.
Preferiría que vinieras a la fiesta

My wife would rather we didn’t play football in the garden.
Mi esposa preferiría que no jugáramos al fútbol en el jardín.

Had better

Esta estructura se utiliza para expresar consejos y puede tener todo tipo de sujetos, aunque es menos habitual con el pronombre de primera persona singular (porque normalmente los consejos se dirigen a los otros):

He’d better study more if he wants to pass the exam.
Sería mejorque estudie más si quiere pasar el examen.

It’s late. I’d better get going.
Es tarde. Sería mejor que me vaya.

La versión negativa de esta expresión es had better not:

She’d better not waste her time on such trifles.
Sería mejor que no desperdicie su tiempo en esas pequeñeces.

Importante:

Tanto would rather como had better tienen la forma contraida “d”, por lo tanto nos tenemos que fijar en la segunda parte de la expresión para decidir si “d” sustituye a “would” o a “had”.

Ejercicios:

A) Reescribir las frases utilizando la palabra que tienes a la derecha.

1. I would prefer to travel abroad this summer. RATHER
________________________________________

2. She would prefer not to work on Saturdays. RATHER
________________________________________

3. He should pay more attention in class. BETTER
________________________________________

4. She shouldn't skip classes. BETTER
________________________________________

5. I would prefer that you stopped playing the piano in the evenings. RATHER
________________________________________

6. She would prefer that he didn't smoke at home. RATHER
________________________________________

Respuestas:

1. I would rather travel abroad this summer.
2. She would rather not work on Saturdays.
3. He had better pay more attention in class.
4. She had better not skip classes.
5. I would rather you stopped playing the piano in the evenings.
6. She would rather he didn't smoke at home.

B) Completar las frases con "would rather" o "had better".

1. I ___________________ save and buy a new car than a second-hand one. They are much safer.
2. You ____________________ put on some sunscreen if you are going to spend the day at the beach.
3. I ______________________ you didn't smoke inside.
4. They___________________ have everything ready, otherwise they'll lose the contract.
5. You ___________________ not drink tonight. You might need to drive us home.
6. I _____________________ you went on holiday in July. I need you at the office in August.
7. I _____________________ live with a flatmate than on my own. I like having people around.

Respuestas:
1. Would rather
2. Had better
3. Would rather
4. Had better
5. Had better
6. Would rather
7. Would rather

C) Escoger la mejor opción para completar las siguientes frases:

1. You __________________ stop doing that. It's very annoying!
a)’d better
b)’d rather

2. I _____________________ arrive late than have an accident, so drive slowly, please!
a)’d better
b)’d rather

3. I ___________________ you called me tomorrow. I'm quite busy now.
a)’d better
b)’d rather

4. Ben ___________________ stop smoking if he doesn't want to get ill. He is a chain smoker.
a)’d better
b)’d rather

5. _____________________ call your family to let them know you are safe and sound? They are probably worried sick about you.
a)’d better
b)’d rather

6. I _______________________ they rehearsed in a different room. I have a terrible headache.
a)’d better
b)’d rather

7. I _________________________get a new pair of boots. These ones don't have any soles left.
a)’d better
b)’d rather

8. My mom ___________________ drive for days than fly. She's terrified of flying.
a)’d better
b)’d rather

9. I ________________________ you didn't watch TV while I'm reading. I can't hear myself think.
a)’d better
b)’d rather

10. You _____________________ train daily if you want to run a marathon. It's very tough.
a)’d better
b)’d rather

Respuestas:
1. a
2. b
3. b
4. a
5. a
6. b
7. a
8. b
9. b
10. a


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