294 care and like
care is chiefly used in the negative and interrogative.
A care for + noun/gerund is very similar to like + noun/gerund. We can say:
(a) Does/Did Tom can for living in the country? or Dots/Did Tom like living in the country?
(b) You don 7 care for science fiction, do you? or You don’t like science fiction, do you?
(b) above conM be answered:
I don’t can for it or / don’t like it much or Oh yes, I like it.
(care would not be possible here.) care in the interrogative sometimes carries a hint of doubt:
Does Ann can for horror movies? (The speaker thinks that she
probably doesn’t, or & surprised that she apparently does.) The feeling of doubt is more noticeable with would you care (for). . . ?
B would care and would like
would care for + noun and would care -t- infinitive are similar to would like + noun/infinitive. But would care (for) is not normally used in the affirmative, and offers expressed by would you care (for). . . ? are less confident than would you like . . . ? offers:
(a) TOM: Would you care for a lift, Ann? (Perhaps his car is uncomfortable and she likes comfort.)
(b) TOM: Would you can to see my photos, Ann? (He isn’t sure that she’ll want to see them.)
A favourable answer to (b) above would be:
I’d tike to see them very much.
As in the affirmative, would like replaces would care. Similarly in negative statements:
/ wouidn ’t can to live on the 35th floor ~ Oh, I’d rather like it. would care for/would like can sometimes be used with gerunds. (See 295 B.)
C would have cared (for) and would have liked Both here refer to actions which didn’t take place:
ANN: I’d have liked to go with Tom. (I wanted to go but didn’t get my wish. See also 296 D. care could not be used here.) i BILL: But he walked all the way! You wouidn 7 have cared for/have
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29 care, like, love, hate, prefer, wish
Do not confuse care as used above with care for (= took after) and care (about):
care for ( = look after) is used chiefly in the passive: The old people were cared for by their families.
care (about) (* feel concerned) is used chiefly in the negative and interrogative.
I don’t care (about) appears similar to I don’t mind, which can often be used instead:
// will be very expensive. ~ I don’t care/mind or
/ don’t care about/mind the expense or
/ don’t care/mind what it costs.
But note that I don’t care (about) = ’I am indifferent (to)’ while I don’t mind = ’1 don’t object (to)’, i.e. ’He/It doesn’t worry/upset/ annoy me.’
I don’t mind is much more polite than I don’t care, which often , sounds arrogant and selfish. In the negative interrogative either can be| used: |
Don’t you care/mind what happens to him? |
Didn ’t you care/mind what happened? I
But in the ordinary interrogative there is more difference between the I two: I
Do you care? = Are you concerned’’VDo you feel concern? while Do you mind? usually means Do you object? (See also 263.)
295 care» like, love, hate, prefer
^ When used in the conditional, these verbs are usually followed by the infinitive:
Would you care/like to come with me? (Would it please you to come with me?)
I’d like to (come) very much or I’d love to (come). I’d hate to spend Christmas alone. Here we are thinking of a particular action in the future.
D But would care for, would like can be followed by gerunds when we are not thinking of a particular action but are considering the subject’s tastes generally. Note also that here would care for/would like are replaceable by would enjoy:
She would like/would enjoy riding if she could ride better.
I wonder if Tom would care for/would enjoy hang-gliding. hate and prefer can be used similarly but are less common.
£ When used in the present or past tenses, care for, like (= enjoy), love, hate and prefer are usuaUy followed by the gerund: He doesn ’t/didn ’t care for dancing. They love/loved wind-surfing. He prefers/preferred walking to cycling.
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296
A
1
29 care, like, love, hate, prefer, wish
But the infinitive is not impossible and is particularly common in American English;
They love/loved to run on the sands,
D Note however that like can also mean ’think wise or right’, and is then always followed by the infinitive:
She likes them to play in the garden. (She thinks they are safe there.)
/ like to go to the dentist twice a year. (I think this wise.) Compare this with / like going to the dentist, which implies that f enjoy my visits. Similarly I don’t like to go = ’I don’t think it right to go’ while I don’t like going = ’I don’t enjoy going’. Notice also another difference between these two negative forms. I don’t like logo usually means ’1 don’t go’ (because I don’t think it right). / don’t like going usually means ’1 go, although 1 don’t enjoy it’. Similarly / didn ’t like to open the letter means ’I didn’t open it because I didn’t think it right to do so’ but / didn’t like opening the letter means ’I opened it reluctantly’.
E enjoy and dislike are always followed by noun/pronoun or gerund.
a ’- – – ~
)6 would like and want
A Sometimes either would like or want can be used:
1 In requests and questions about requests (but would not like is not used here: see Bl below):
CUSTOMER: I’d like some raspberries, please or / want some raspberries, please.
GREENGROCER: I’m afraid I haven’t any. Would you like some strawberries?
CUSTOMER: No, I don’t want any strawberries, thanks, (wouldn ’t like is not possible.)
I would like is usually more polite than I want, would you like? is much* more polite and helpful than do you want? would you like? can imply a willingness to satisfy the other person’s wishes, do you want? doesn’t imply this. Someone dealing with a customer or client, therefore, wit) normally use would you like?: CALLER: I’d like to/I want to speak to Mr X, please. TELEPHONIST: Mr X is out. Would you like to speak to Mr Y? When we are not making requests, but merely talking about our wishes, we can use either would like or want in affirmative, interrogative or negative. There is no difference in meaning, though / want usually sounds more confident than / would like and / want is not normally used for unrealizable wishes: / would like to live on Mars.
29 care, like, love, hate, prefer, wish
B would like and want are not interchangeable in the following uses:
1 In invitations we use would you like? not do you want?
Would you like a cup of coffee? Would you like to come to the theattt? do you want? used here would be a question only, not an invitation.
2 wouldn’t like and don’t want are different.
don’t want – ’have no wish for’, but wouldn’t like « ’would
dislike’.
wouldn’t like cannot therefore be used in answer to invitations or
offers, as it would be impolite. Instead we use don’t want or some
other form:
Would you like some more coffee? – No, I don’t want any more,
thanks or No, thanks.
C In the past the two forms behave differently. In indirect speech want becomes wanted, but would like remains unchanged:
Tom said, 7 would like/want to see it’ –
Tom said he would like/wanted to see it.
But if we don’t use a reported speech construction we have to say Tom wanted to see it. (We cannot use would like here, as Tom would like to see it has a present or future meaning.)
D
would like has two past forms: would like + perfect infinitive or would have liked + infinitive/noun/pronoun. These forms express unrealized wishes only:
I’d like to have gone skiing or
I’d have liked a da?> s skiing. (But I didn’t get my wish.)
297 would rather/sooner and prefer/would prefer
There is no difference between would rather and would sooner, but would rather is more often heard.
A
would rather/sooner is followed by the bare infinitive when the subject of would rather/sooner is the same as the subject of the following action:
Tom would rather read than talk.
would rather/sooner + infinitive can be used instead of prefer + gerund for present actions:
Tom prefers reading to talking.
Note: would rather + infinitive + than + infinitive, but prefer + gerund + to + gerund.
prefer can also be followed by a noun, but would rather always requires a verb:
He prefers wine to beer –
He would rather drink wine than beer.
I prefer tennis to golf *
I’d rather play tennis than golf.
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.. ,«<* gone oy air// ’d prefer to have & _, <*tr. u wanted to go by air, but didn’t get my wish.) This is somewhat similar to would like + perfect infinitive, which expresses an unfulfilled wish. (See 296 D.)
B Subject + would rather/sooner is Mowed by subject •*- past tense (subjunctive) when the two subjects are different:
Shall I give you a cheque? ~ I’d rather you paid cash.
Note the use of would rather +• subject + didn’t for a negative preference:
Would you like him to paint it? ~ No, I’d rather he didn ’t (paint it). Ann wants to tell Tom, but I’d rather she didn’t (tell him). prefer, however, like like, can take object + infinitive: / ’d prefer you to pay cash. I’d prefer him not to paint it. I’d prefer her not to tell Tom.
298 More examples of preference A / like hot weather better than cold »
I prefer hot weather to cold * I’d rather/sooner have hot weather than cold. I like skiing better than skating –
1 prefer skiing to skating « I’d rather/sooner ski than skate.
B I liked playing in matches better than watching them =
I preferred playing matches to watching them. (would rather/sooner could not be used here.)
258
259
29 care, like,- love, hate, prefer, wish
C Would you like to start today or would you rather wait/would you
prefer to wait till tomorrow? – I’d rather go today (than wait till tomorrow). I’d rather not wait. Or I’d prefer to start today. I’d prefer not to wait. I’d rather deliver it by hand than post it. „
He says he ’d rather go to prison than pay the fine’. U
I’d rather pay his fine for him than let him go to prison. B
rather than . . . would + infinitive is possible in formal English: I Rather than let him go to prison I would pay his fine myself. I
D Do you uant Ann to repair it herself? ~ I’d prefer her to ring/I’d B
rather she rang the electrician or fl
/ ’d rather she didn ’t try to repair it herself.
They want to camp in my garden but I ’d rather they didn’t. 1 ’d
rather they camped by the nver.
He usually has a pub lunch, but she ’d prefer him to come home for a
meal/she ’d rather he came home for lunch. She ’d rather he didn’t
spend money in pubs.
299 wish, want and would like
wish, want and would like all mean ’desire’. wish is the most formal. For want ar.d would like, see 2%. A wish can be followed directly by an infinitive or by object + infinitive: Why do/did you uish to see the manager? ~ I wish/wished to make a
complaint.
The government does not wish Drjekyll Hyde to accept a
professorship at a foreign university. In less formal language we would use want or would like:
/ would like/want to speak to Ann.
1 wanted to speak to Ann.
She doesn ’t/didn ’t want the children to stay up late. (If we used like
here instead of want, it would mean that she doesn’t/didn’t
approve of the children staying up late.) B want and would like can be followed directly by nouns:
/ want/would like a single room.
He wanted a single room. wish has a more restricted use: We can wish someone luck/success/a happy Christmas etc.:
He said, ’Good lutk!’ – He wished mt luck. We can also send someone ’good/best wishes’: ’
With all good wishes, yours. Bill (at the end of a letter)
Best wishes for the New Year (on a New Year card) Except in greetings of this kind, wish is not normally followed by a
noun object.
wish + for can be followed by a noun/pronoun, but usually implies that
260
29 care, like, love, hate, prefer, wish
the subject has little hope of obtaining his wish. It is chiefly used in exclamations:
How he wished for a drink! (Presumably he had no hope of getting one.)
What he chiefly wished for was a chance to explain. (It seems unlikely that he was going to get this chance.)
300
A
B
K) wish + subject + unreal past
A wish (that) + subject + a past tense (subjunctive; see 290 B) expresses regret about a present situation:
/ wish I knew his address = I’m sorry I don’t know his address. I wish you could drive a car * I’m sorry you can 7 drive a car. I wish he was coming with us = I’m sorry he isn ’t coming with us. wish can be put into the past without changing the subjunctive: He wished he knew the address = He was sorry he didn’t know the address. Unreal past tenses do not change in indirect speech:
7 wish 7 lived nearer my work,’ he said = He said he wished he lived nearer his work.
’< wish (that) + subject + past perfect (subjunctive) expresses regret about a past situation:
/ wish (that) I hadn ’t spent so much money –
I’m sorry I spent so much money.
I wish you had written to him = I’m sorry you didn’t write to him. wished can replace wish without changing the subjunctive:
/ wished I hadn’t spent so much money =
/ was sorry I had spent so much money. These verbs will be reported unchanged:
7 wished I had taken his advice,’ she said = She (said she) wished she had taken his advice.
if only can be used in exactly the same way. It has the same meaning as wish but is more dramatic:
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If only we knew where to look for him! If only she had asked someone’s advice!
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261
D
29 care, like, love, hate, prefer, wish
wish + would here can express interest in the subject’s willingness/unwillingness to perform an action in the present. This is usually a habitual action.
/ wisk he would write more often *
I’m sorry he isn ’t willing to write more often.
I wish he would wear a coat – I’m sorry he refuses to wear a coat. The subject of wish cannot be the same as the subject of would, as this would be illogical. We cannot therefore have I wish -t- I would.
wish + subject + would can also be used to express dissatisfaction with the present and a wish for change in the future:
/ wish he would answer my letter. (I have been waiting for an
answer for a long time.)
/ wish they would change the menu. (I’m tired of eating sausages.)
/ wish they would stop making bombs.
But the speaker is normally not very hopeful that the change will take place, and often, as in the third example above, has no hope at all. As in B above, wish -t- subject -t- would here is restricted to actions where change is possible, and wish and would cannot have the same subject.
When there is a personal subject, the action is in the subject’s control and the idea of willingness/unwillingness is still present, but wish + subject + would here can sometimes be used with inanimate subjects:
/ wish it would stop raining. 1 wish the sun would come out.
I wish prices would come down. I wish the train would come. wish + subject -t- would here is rather like would like, but would like is not restricted to actions where change is possible and ’does not imply dissatisfaction with the present situation. Also the would like construction does not imply any lack of hope:
/ would like Jack to study art. (I want him to study art/I hope he will
study art.)
/ wish Peter would study art. (Peter has presumably refused to do
this.)
I wish you would is a possible request form. Here there is no feeling that the person addressed will refuse to perform the request, but there is often a feeling that this person is annoying or disappointing the speaker in some way: / wish you would help me often implies ’You should have offered to help me’, and / wish you would stop humming/interrupting/asking silly questions would imply that the speaker was irritated by the noise/the interruptions/the silly questions. However, the expression I wiah you would can be used in answer to an offer of help, and does not then imply any dissatisfaction:
Shall 1 help you check the accounts? – I wish you would. (I’d be
glad of your help.)
if only ••- would can replace wish + would in B and C above. It
cannot be used for requests as in D.
if only is more dramatic than wish: If only he would join our pcrto1
262