1.would rather直接后接动词原形:
I would rather/I'd rather stay at home this Sunday.
这个星期天我宁愿呆在家里。
I would rather take the plane.
我更愿意乘飞机去。
Mary would rather/Mary'd rather spend time on the beach with her family.
玛丽宁愿和家人呆在海滩。
I personally would rather roast a chicken whole.
我个人更愿意烤整只鸡。
Would they rather do homework tomorrow morning?
他们宁愿明天早上做作业吗？
Wouldn't you rather stay at home?
你不愿意呆在家里吗？
What would you rather do instead?
你宁愿做别的什么？
注意：
would rather后接动词的完成式，表示主语要做某事，而结果事与愿违的意思：
I’d rather have left a note on her desk. 我本想留张字条在她书桌上的。（事实上没有留）
比较： I’d rather I left a note on her desk. 我宁可留张字条在她的书桌上。（平铺直叙地表示现在或将来宁愿留字条）
She would rather have helped us, but she didn't know about our problem.
她那时本来很愿意帮我们，可是她不知道我们的困难。（事实上没有帮）
She would rather have spent the money on a holiday.
她宁愿那时把金钱花在度假上。（事实上金钱没有花在度假上）
I would rather have told him about it.
我宁愿当时把这件事告诉了他。（事实上没有告诉他）
I would rather have taken his advice yesterday.
我昨日要是采纳了他的建议就好了。（事实上没有采纳建议）
2.除了以上句型用法，would rather 还可以接that从句的采用虚拟语气用法：
(1)谓语用过去时:表与现在或将来事实相反的虚拟
would rather that somebody did…"
I would rather (that) my son worked in finance.
我宁愿我儿子在金融界工作。
I would rather Lionel took it on
我宁愿莱昂内尔负责这件事。
I would rather you came tomorrow .我宁愿你明天来。
Would you rather (that) she camewith us?
你宁愿她和我们一起去吗？
I'd rather (that) you came another time.
我宁愿你下次再来。
She would rather (that) he weren't so anxious to leave.
她宁可他不要急于离开。
I’d rather they didn’t tell anyone
我宁愿他们不要告诉任何人。
She’d rather you didn’t phone after 10 o’clock.
她宁愿你十点钟以后就不要打电话了。
(2)谓语用过去完成时:表与过去事实相反的虚拟
would rather that somebody had done…
I would rather you had not done that. 我宁愿你没有做过那件事。
I’d rather you hadn’t told him the news that day. 我真希望你那天没有把那消息告诉他。
3.would rather …… than……（宁愿前者，而不愿后者）
would rather 常常和than连用，表达在两种情况之间的选择：
Would rather 常与 than 连用，用于在两个特定的动作中做出选择，此时句中的动作是主语要发出的或已发出的，would rather 和 than 后面接对等的成分，当前后动词一样时，可以省略后面的动词，如：
They would rather work than live on welfare.
他们宁愿工作而不愿靠社会保障金过活。
We would rather withdraw the draft resolution than amend it.
与其修改决议草案，不如予以撤回。
He would rather be killed in a race than die a lingering death in hospital.
他宁肯在比赛中丢了性命也不愿在医院里苟延残喘。
He would rather die than be a convict.
他宁愿死也不愿当囚犯。
He would rather die than live in dishonour.
他宁死不愿忍辱偷生。
Liu Hulan would rather die than surrender before the enemy.
刘胡兰在敌人面前宁死不屈。
Kids would rather play than study
孩子们宁愿玩也不愿学习。
Most men would rather go to the grave than own up to feelings of dependency.
大多数男人宁死都不愿承认有依赖感。
He would rather shoot himself than compromise his principles.
他宁愿一枪打死自己也不愿违背自己的原则。
He would rather have a decent death which served some purpose than a meaningless death.
他宁愿死得其所，也不想无谓地死去。
She would rather perjure herself than admit to her sins.
她宁愿在法庭上撒谎也不愿承认她的罪行。
I would rather stare at a clear, star-filled sky than a TV set
我宁可凝视繁星满天的晴朗夜空也不愿盯着电视机。
I would rather pay for a meal than watch nine friends pick over and split a bill
我宁可掏钱请客，也不愿看到9位朋友算来算去分摊账单。
The chairman quipped that he would rather sell his airline than his computer systems.
主席风趣地说，他宁可卖掉他的航空公司，也不愿出售他的计算机系统。
The soldiers vowed that they would rather die than surrender.
士兵们发誓宁死不降。
I would rather invest time in Rebecca than in the kitchen.
我宁愿把时间花在丽贝卡身上也不愿花在厨房里。
I would rather have three minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.
我情愿要三分钟的精彩，也不要一辈子的平庸。
I would rather/I'd rather learn a new language than study math.
我宁愿学一门新语言也不愿学数学。
Would you rather eat dinner out than cook dinner tonight?
今晚你宁愿在外面吃饭也不愿做饭吗？
She would rather play tennis than go horseback riding.
她宁愿打网球也不愿骑马。
I would rather have an apple than a pear. I don't like pears.
我宁愿吃苹果也不愿吃梨。我不喜欢梨。
She would rather play tennis than go horseback riding.
她宁愿打网球也不愿骑马。
I would rather have an orange than a pear.
我宁愿要只桔子也不想吃梨。
I'd rather live in the country than in the cities.
我宁愿住在乡下也不愿住在城市里。
She'd rather die than marry him.
她宁愿死也不愿嫁给他。
He would rather have gone out than stayed.
他宁愿出去也不愿留下来。
解析：此句意思是 He stayed.
注意后接完成时态用法表示过去宁愿做了某事而不愿意做某事：
I’d rather have seen it at the cinema than on DVD.
我那时宁愿在影院看那部电影，也不愿通过DVD看碟片。（实际上我在影院看了这部电影）
当我们要强调时，会采用would much rather的用法。在口语中，我们会重读much以示强调：
He would much rather have been crooning in a smoky bar