​Prefer sth to sth

Prefer doing sth to doing sth

Prefer to do sth rather than do sth ​

​General preference

​I prefer to die rather than live without you

​

I prefer dying to living without you.

​

Would prefer = 'd prefer

Would rather = 'd rather

​ We went to the theatre yesterday.

Today I would prefer to go to the cinema.

I'd rather go to the cinema.​

​Specific preference

​Would rather V infinitive

Would prefer to + infinitive / a noun.

would rather . . . than

would prefer . . . rather than / instead of​

​It's such nice weather –

I'd rather sit in the garden than watch TV.

​I'd prefer to sit in the garden rather than watch TV

Whenever I have time I like to read but I prefer not to read in the evening.