Timeline for Using "I had rather" instead of "I would rather"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2014 at 12:39 | vote | accept | taserian | ||
| Sep 25, 2013 at 12:20 | comment | added | Janus Bahs Jacquet | ‘Not necessarily that it contains an element of compulsion; rather that it represents a use/meaning of the construction ‘have to [inf.]’ that is not found anymore. | |
| Sep 25, 2013 at 7:08 | comment | added | Barrie England | You mean it may contain an element of compulsion? Perhaps. It isn’t clear from the context. On the other hand, the inclusion of to may simply be a feature of the language of the time, where we would omit it now. | |
| Sep 25, 2013 at 7:02 | comment | added | Janus Bahs Jacquet | The OED quote also has ‘to’, which makes it more of a special meaning of ‘have to be’ than ‘would be’. | |
| Sep 25, 2013 at 6:35 | comment | added | Barrie England | The OED has this citation using the infinitive from around 1533 which matches the S and G line: ‘I had rather to bee Cato.’ But if I had to guess the full form of the lyric in the light of contemporary usage, I, too, would have to say ‘I would . . .’ | |
| Sep 24, 2013 at 21:36 | comment | added | Janus Bahs Jacquet | I do not have access to the OED’s examples right now, but it would seem to me that ‘had rather’ (like its definition, ‘would have’) should be used with the past participle, not the infinitive. “I'd rather been a sparrow” = I had rather been; but “I'd rather be a sparrow” = I would rather be a sparrow. | |
| Sep 24, 2013 at 16:53 | history | answered | Barrie England | CC BY-SA 3.0 |