Would rather/help

Would rather/help
Message from hafor posted on 13-10-2013 at 02:35:00 (D | E | F)
Hello,

This is about test 91125
#5. I would rather had visited (have visited) my grandparents when they were alive. Now I'm filled with remorse.
Could you please help to explain why the right answer is have visited?
I chose had visited because it's unreal and in the past.

Thanks in advance.

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Edited by lucile83 on 13-10-2013 09:28

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Re: Would rather/help from irish21, posted on 13-10-2013 at 05:35:31 (D | E)
Hello,
'would rather' is followed by an infinitive without 'to'. Please take a look at this link: Link

Regards.

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Re: Would rather/help from simplicius, posted on 13-10-2013 at 12:40:14 (D | E)
Hello,

Even if you did'nt know that would rather works with the infinitive without to, you could have guessed that "*I would rather had visited" is not possible. This is a simple clause, and you have two conjugated verb forms, "would" and "had"; that never happens.
Cheers, S.

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Re: Would rather/help from gerondif, posted on 13-10-2013 at 19:19:20 (D | E)
hello,
for me: "(If only I had visited) I wish I had visited my grandparents when they were still alive" is much clearer than
"I would rather have visited my parents when they were alive" which sounds wrong to me.

"I would rather have visited my grandparents the other day rather than stay at home in front of that boring movie!" would be ok for me.
In the same respect,
"I would rather have visited that distillery rather than that castle!" sounds ok to me because it is a wish, a regret about a choice.
For me "I would rather" expresses a wish turned to the future whereas "if only" or "I wish" can express a regret about the past.

I wish I had bought that car ! Well, you hesitated too long, it's just too bad.
"I would rather have bought that car (than this one)" for me doesn't mean the same. It means I chose another model and regret it.

5. I would rather have visited my grandparents when they were alive than when they are dead is a bizarre and cruel sentence for me.
I would not use "I would rather" for a definitive regret on a single piece of information.

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Re: Would rather/help from lucile83, posted on 13-10-2013 at 20:08:04 (D | E)
Hello,

You are right gerondif.
I modified the sentence in the test, and I copied your example which is quite correct. I was lazy to think about another one
Thank you

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Re: Would rather/help from angel7, posted on 14-10-2013 at 17:23:54 (D | E)
Hello,
thank you gerondif for this very nice explanation.
Take care.

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