Lesson B2 · Upper-intermediate Grammar

Plan a Better Week: Preferences and Overdue Action

Express practical preferences and overdue actions from an original planning diary while preserving who acts and when.

11 min read 1,931 words Updated Oct 21, 2026

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B2 · 32 minutes · 16 explained checks. Work through the examples, try the questions, then use the final checklist. All people, venues and notices in this resource are fictional.

Read the weekly planning diary

This fictional diary records practical choices for the coming week. The task is to express the preferences accurately, including who should act. You are not being asked to diagnose feelings or invent a past regret. Read each entry’s actual plan before choosing a grammar pattern.

Monday: I am preparing an article at home tomorrow. The café nearby is lively, but I can concentrate better in the quiet flat. I would choose home for this writing session. My flatmate is free to invite friends another evening; I want tomorrow evening kept quiet. We have not argued, and I want to explain the preference calmly rather than make it sound like a permanent rule.

Tuesday: Noor and I need to discuss the article. We can meet early on Thursday or late on Friday. I favour the early Thursday meeting because it leaves time for changes. Noor will send the agenda, and I want it sent before we meet. The meeting is not confirmed yet, so my message should leave room for her answer.

Wednesday: The presentation is on Monday, but we have not started making the slides. Starting is already due. I think we should begin today. I do not want to work late tonight, and I would choose a short focused session now over a long evening session. Each person can prepare two slides.

Thursday: My colleague plans to call during Friday’s staff meeting, which is separate from the still-unconfirmed article discussion. I want the call after the staff meeting instead. I also favour taking the bus myself if the weather is wet. These are different people’s actions, so my final message must keep the callers and travellers clear.

Check who acts. Text equivalent: MY PREFERENCE: I would prefer to work early; YOUR ACTION: I would prefer you to call; OVERDUE ACTION: It is time to prepare. — Text equivalent: MY PREFERENCE: I would prefer to work early; YOUR ACTION: I would prefer you to call; OVERDUE ACTION: It is time to prepare.

Recover the actors and intended times

Questions 1–4 identify who acts and when. A future preference can use a past form after would rather with a different subject: “I’d rather you called later.” That form does not rewrite the diary as a past event. Keep the actual circumstances separate from the wording used to express the speaker’s view.

Make three columns: preference-holder; actor; time. For the agenda, the speaker has the preference, Noor sends it, and sending should happen before the meeting. For not working late, the speaker is both preference-holder and actor, and the time is tonight.

Answer on paper, then open the explanations below. Enable JavaScript to check answers here.

1 Who would work at home tomorrow?

Choose one answer.

the flatmate the diary writer

Answer and explanation

the diary writer

Monday describes the writer’s article preparation. The flatmate’s separate action concerns visitors.

2 Who should send the agenda?

Choose one answer.

Noor the diary writer

Answer and explanation

Noor

Tuesday explicitly gives Noor that role; a faithful preference must retain her as actor.

3 When is starting the slides due?

Choose one answer.

today, on Wednesday only after Monday’s presentation

Answer and explanation

today, on Wednesday

Wednesday says preparation has not begun and is already due for Monday’s presentation.

4 Is the early Thursday meeting confirmed?

Choose one answer.

No, it is the writer’s preference. Yes, Noor has accepted it.

Answer and explanation

No, it is the writer’s preference.

The diary explicitly leaves the meeting unconfirmed. No acceptance may be invented.

Select a preference pattern

Questions 5–8 choose rather and prefer frames. Would rather + base form suits the speaker’s own action; would rather + another subject + past form suits someone else’s action. Would prefer uses a to-infinitive here, with an object when needed: “I’d prefer Noor to send the agenda first.”

Do not confuse would prefer with the general pattern “prefer walking to driving.” The diary describes particular choices this week. Other patterns are possible, but the prompts specify which frame to practise so the answer is checkable.

Answer on paper, then open the explanations below. Enable JavaScript to check answers here.

5 Complete: “I’d rather ___ at home tomorrow.” Use work. Your answer

Answer and explanation

work

The writer is both preference-holder and actor, so would rather takes a base verb.

6 Complete: “I’d rather my flatmate ___ friends another evening.” Use invite. Your answer

Answer and explanation

invited

A different subject follows rather, so the past form expresses the future preference.

7 Complete: “I’d prefer ___ early on Thursday.” Use meet. Your answer

Answer and explanation

to meet

Would prefer takes a to-infinitive for this specific same-subject choice.

8 Complete: “I’d prefer Noor ___ the agenda before we meet.” Use send. Your answer

Answer and explanation

to send

The object Noor is followed by a to-infinitive. Noor remains the sender.

Preferences and overdue action

Questions 9–12 compare actions or express that preparation is due. Both “It is time to start” and “It is time we started” can fit Wednesday. The past-clause version often suggests action is due or overdue. It does not imply the slides are already complete.

A preference is a message to negotiate, not necessarily a rule imposed on another person. For Noor, add a context phrase such as “if that works for you.” For the flatmate, make clear that quiet is requested for tomorrow evening, rather than claiming a permanent ban on visitors.

Answer on paper, then open the explanations below. Enable JavaScript to check answers here.

9 Complete: “I’d rather start now than ___ late tonight.” Use work. Your answer

Answer and explanation

work

The compared action matches the base verb start in the would-rather frame.

10 Complete: “It is time we ___ the slides.” Use start. Your answer

Answer and explanation

started

It is time + subject + past form expresses action due now, even though started looks past.

11 Complete the infinitive alternative: “It is time ___ the slides.” Use start. Your answer

Answer and explanation

to start

The to-infinitive is a direct alternative for action whose time has arrived.

12 Which message keeps the meeting as a considerate proposal?

Choose one answer.

We are definitely meeting early on Thursday. I’d prefer to meet early on Thursday, if that works for you.

Answer and explanation

I’d prefer to meet early on Thursday, if that works for you.

“I’d prefer to meet early on Thursday, if that works for you” preserves a preference and invites Noor’s response. “We are definitely meeting” invents confirmation.

Fix the planning message

Questions 13–16 repair unwanted to after rather, missing to after prefer, negative placement and changed actors. Read the entire corrected sentence. If the original asks a colleague to call later, a rewrite about the speaker calling later is not faithful.

In open writing, contractions and full forms are acceptable. “I’d rather” and “I would rather” differ in register, not basic meaning. “I’d prefer it if you sent the agenda first” is another useful option, so do not reject it simply because the model uses object + to.

Answer on paper, then open the explanations below. Enable JavaScript to check answers here.

13 Repair: “I’d rather to take the bus.” Your answer

Answer and explanation

I’d rather take the bus.

Also accepted: I'd rather take the bus.; I would rather take the bus.; I’d rather take the bus; I'd rather take the bus; I would rather take the bus

Remove to after same-subject would rather.

14 Repair: “I’d prefer work early.” Your answer

Answer and explanation

I’d prefer to work early.

Also accepted: I'd prefer to work early.; I would prefer to work early.; I’d prefer to work early; I'd prefer to work early; I would prefer to work early

The specific-action would-prefer frame requires to before work.

15 Choose the negative preference about the colleague’s call.

Choose one answer.

I’d rather not call during the meeting. I’d rather you didn’t call during the meeting.

Answer and explanation

I’d rather you didn’t call during the meeting.

You is the colleague who would call. The other sentence makes the speaker the caller.

16 Which prefer rewrite preserves “I’d rather you called after the meeting”?

Choose one answer.

I’d prefer you to call after the meeting. I’d prefer to call after the meeting.

Answer and explanation

I’d prefer you to call after the meeting.

The object you keeps the intended actor. Omitting it changes whose action is preferred.

Write a useful reflection

Write four clearly dated mini-messages, one for each diary entry, with 100–130 words in total. Include one same-subject preference, one preference about another person’s action, a comparison and an it-is-time construction. Label each message Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday so that today and tomorrow have clear reference. Preserve the unconfirmed article meeting and the separate Friday staff meeting.

Compare each dated message with its own diary entry by actor, action and time. The Tuesday article discussion remains unconfirmed. The Thursday message concerns a separate staff meeting on Friday. Do not merge the diary’s different days into one undated today or tomorrow.

Explained answers and time audit

The sixteen checks cover four fact decisions, four form choices, four preferences/action patterns and four repairs. The final writing task is open and is not automatically graded. Before finishing, label each past form as an actual past event or a present/future stance construction. Then check that every requested action belongs to the intended person.

Your turn · self-review

Four dated planning messages

Write four dated mini-messages, 100–130 words in total. Compare actor, time, form and courtesy.

Practice only. Your writing stays on this page; it is not submitted or saved.

1Write one clearly dated mini-message for each diary entry.
Model answer and explanation
Monday: I’d rather work at home tomorrow than go to the café. I’d prefer my flatmate to invite friends another evening. Tuesday: I’d prefer to discuss the article early on Thursday rather than late on Friday, if that works for Noor. I’d rather she sent the agenda first. Nothing is confirmed yet. Wednesday: It is time we started the slides for next Monday. I’d rather have a short session today than work late tonight. Each of us can prepare two slides. Thursday: For tomorrow’s separate staff meeting, I’d prefer my colleague to call afterwards. If it is wet, I’d rather take the bus myself.

Why this model works: Each weekday label fixes the reference of today or tomorrow. Work and take follow same-subject would rather. My flatmate to invite and my colleague to call keep the other actors explicit. She sent expresses a future preference; we started expresses action due now. The article discussion stays unconfirmed and is distinct from Friday’s staff meeting.

Your final check

Read the complete sentence or source again. Check the actor, action, time, quantities, conditions and intended meaning. Explain why your version works rather than memorising its surface form. Revisit any question whose explanation differs from your reasoning.

For a different grammar job, review Wish, if only and regrets in the grammar course. That lesson covers wishes and earlier regrets; this resource focuses on current preferences and action due now.