Re: USAGE: I'd rather (was: Re: Journalists)

>"Mark J. Reed" <markjreed@...> wrote:
>In sentences like "I'd rather that not be true", the verb "would" (a
>form of "will") is being used in its sense of "want" or "wish", not
>as an auxiliary.
According to the Columbia Guide to Standard American English" (you pick
your guide, I'll pick mine :-)), "would rather" and "had rather" are
equally correct.  Therefore, it seems to me that "would = want" is not
correct.  That would mean that "had = want" is correct also.  I
believe "would" in this expression is the auxiliary in the subjunctive
without a verb, if it ever even had one in this expression.

It is impossible to discern which is meant when the contraction "I'd"
is used.

Charlie

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