Hey buddies!, a veces cosas tan sencillas como hablar sobre nuestras preferencias puede resultar un poco lioso cuando empezamos a mezclar expresiones con los verbos prefer, like better y would rather. Hoy os damos las claves (y muchos ejemplos) para saber cómo utilizar cada uno de ellos de manera correcta.
En inglés hay varias estructuras que podemos usar para expresar preferencias:
Which do you prefer tea or coffee? I prefer tea to coffee.
Which do you like better coke or pepsi? I like coke better than pepsi.
Do you prefer beer drinking beer or wine? I prefer drinking beer to wine.
Would you prefer to live in a big city or in a small town? I’d prefer living in a big city to living in a small town.
Would you rather take a nap? I‘d rather take a nap than go for a walk.
Vamos a ver estas estructuras una por una:
Prefer (something) to (something)
E.g.
I prefer tea to coffee.
I prefer beer to wine.
Which do you prefer coffee or tea?
Do you prefer coffee or hot chocolate?
Prefer (doing something) to (doing something)
E.g.
I prefer drinking beer to (drinking) wine.
I prefer reading a book to going for a walk.
I prefer watching series to reading books.
Do you prefer watching series or reading books?
Like (something) better than (something)
E.g.
I like coke better than pepsi.
I like the beach better than the mountain.
Which do you like better the beach or the mountain?
Which do you like better beer or wine?
Like (doing something) better than (doing something)
E.g.
I like living in a city better than (living) in the countryside.
I like reading a book better than going for a walk.
Which do you like better going for a walk or reading a book?
Which do you like better visiting monuments or museums?
Would prefer (something) to (something)
E.g.
I’d prefer a big city to a small town. > I’d (I would)
I’d prefer a bicycle to an electric scooter.
I’d prefer an ice cream to a pizza.
Would you prefer a pizza to an ice cream?
Would prefer (doing something) to (doing something)
E.g.
I’d prefer going for a walk to watching series.
I’d prefer eating out to cooking.
I’d prefer having more time to having more money.
Would you prefer eating out or cooking dinner tonight?
Would you prefer watching series or going for a walk?
Would rather (do something) than (do something)
E.g.
I’d rather stay at home than go out.
I’d rather take a nap than go for a walk.
I’d rather have more time than (have) more money.
Would rather take a nap than go for a walk?
Would you rather have more time than money?
Would you rather visit a big city than live there?
Para expresar preferencias podeis utilizar cualquiera de ellas, pero prestad atención a las diversas variantes con to or con than / better than y el uso de los verbos en infinitivo con / sin «to» o bien en gerundio «-ing».
Un breve resumen
Prefer (something) to (something)
Prefer (doing something) to (doing something)
Like (something) better than (something)
Like (doing something) better than (doing something)
Would prefer (something) to (something)
Would prefer (doing something) to (doing something)
Would rather (do something) than (do something)
Esperamos que todos estos ejemplos te hayan ayudado a ver las diferencias de uso y que a partir de ahora utilices algunas de estas expresiones para hablar sobre tus gustos y preferencias en inglés.
El verbo suggest en inglés tiene truco porque construimos las frases de una manera diferente a la que usaríamos en español. Te contamos cómo usar el verbo suggest correctamente en inglés. Toma nota!
A la hora de usar el verbo suggest, hay varios puntos que hay que tener en cuenta al construir las frases, porque con este verbo hay varias estructuras que son correctas, pero a su vez diferentes de cómo construiríamos la frase en español. Observa primero estos ejemplos con el verbo suggest
They suggested me to accept the job offer.
They suggested that I (should) accept the job offer.
He suggested us to wait for an answer.
He suggested waiting for an answer.
I suggested them a good restaurant in the area.
I suggested a good restaurant in the area.
He suggested us a solution to the problem.
He suggested a solution to the problem (to us).
Ahora vamos a ver paso a paso cómo usar el verbo suggest correctamente en cada uno de los casos, verás que no es difícil, pero hay que prestar atención.
Usamos suggest that + subject + verb +…
e.g.
I suggest (that) you leave early to avoid traffic jams.
He suggested (that) we visit them during summer holidays.
They suggested (that) I accept the job offer.
En general, podemos omitir (that) siempre que el significado quede claro.
En el último ejemplo además, si el verbo suggest va en pasado, podemos también usar should y decir
e.g.
They suggested (that) I should accept the job offer.
I suggested (that) you should think carefully before taking a decision.
Usamos suggest + -ing
es decir, el verbo suggest es uno de esos verbos que si van seguidos de otro verbo, éste segundo verbo va en gerundio (-ing) y no con “to” (infinitivo)
e.g.
He suggested waiting for an answer before making a decision.
Our doctor suggests doing exercise everyday.
Tina suggests meeting for a drink after work.
He suggested visiting them during summer holidays.
Podemos usar suggest + noun
e.g.
I suggested a good restaurant in the area.
He suggested a solution to the problem.
Si no queda claro en el contexto, podemos añadir a quién se le realiza la sugerencia, pero con “to”, es decir
e.g.
He suggested a solution (to us).
I suggested a good restaurant (to him).
Otro de los verbos con los que cometemos este tipo de error es el verbo explain.
Usamos suggest + wh- word
podemos usar también el verbo suggest seguido de wh-words como what, where, when, how… observa estos ejemplos
e.g.
I suggested how to get the best price when booking flights.
She suggested what to see and do in Florence.
They suggested where we could go on a weekend trip.
En resumen, los errores que cometemos al usar el verbo suggest, son principalmente porque el verbo suggest no puede ir seguido de un objeto indirecto o pronombre (me, you, us, them) sin preposición. Y porque tampoco se puede usar el verbo suggest con un objeto + infinitivo, como veíamos en los ejemplos correctos/incorrectos al principio del post. Ahora que ya lo hemos visto en detalle, solo tenemos que tomar nota de estas estructuras para saber cómo usar el verbo suggest correctamente en inglés.
