Expressing Preferences Naturally — Thể hiện sở thích tự nhiên trong IELTS Speaking — IELTS Grammar

Tóm tắt

Cấu trúc	Ví dụ	Mức độ
I prefer A to B	I prefer tea to coffee.	Neutral
I'd rather + bare infinitive	I'd rather stay home.	Casual/Neutral
I'd rather A than B	I'd rather read than watch TV.	Casual/Neutral
I tend to + verb	I tend to prefer quieter environments.	Natural/Soft
I'm more of a [noun] person	I'm more of a morning person.	Casual/Vivid
What I enjoy most is...	What I enjoy most is being outdoors.	Emphatic
I have a soft spot for...	I have a soft spot for old movies.	Warm/Informal
[A] appeals to me more than [B]	City life appeals to me more than rural life.	Formal

Tại sao quan trọng

Trong IELTS Speaking Part 1 và Part 2, câu hỏi về sở thích rất phổ biến. Người học thường chỉ dùng "I like" và "I prefer" lặp đi lặp lại, hoặc trả lời quá ngắn mà không giải thích lý do. Biết nhiều cách diễn đạt sở thích giúp câu trả lời nghe tự nhiên hơn và dễ phát triển thành câu dài hơn.

PHẦN 1: I PREFER — Cấu trúc nền tảng

prefer + V-ing (không so sánh):

I prefer + V-ing (+ to/over + V-ing)

I prefer working from home.
I prefer cooking my own food to eating out.
I prefer reading physical books over reading on a screen.

Lưu ý: "prefer A to B" — dùng "to", không phải "than": - ❌ "I prefer coffee than tea." - ✅ "I prefer coffee to tea."

prefer + noun:

I prefer the mountains to the beach, personally.
I've always preferred classical music to pop.

Câu trả lời Part 1 đầy đủ:

Q: "Do you prefer reading or watching TV?" "I definitely prefer reading — I find it more absorbing than watching TV. When I'm reading a good book, I can lose track of time completely, which doesn't really happen when I'm watching something."

PHẦN 2: I'D RATHER — Sở thích trong tình huống cụ thể

I'd rather + bare infinitive (than + bare infinitive)

"I'd rather" thường dùng khi nói về lựa chọn trong một tình huống cụ thể — nghe tự nhiên và casual.

I'd rather stay home tonight than go to the party.
If I had the choice, I'd rather live in a smaller city.
I'd rather travel by train — it's more comfortable than flying.
Honestly, I'd rather have a quiet dinner than go somewhere loud.

Khác với "I prefer": - "I prefer tea to coffee." (sở thích chung) - "I'd rather have tea." (tình huống hiện tại)

PHẦN 3: I TEND TO — Sở thích nhẹ nhàng, tự nhiên

I tend to + verb / I tend to be + adj

"I tend to" nghe rất tự nhiên vì nó không quá tuyệt đối — phù hợp khi sở thích không mạnh hoặc khi muốn nghe bình thường hơn.

I tend to prefer mornings for studying — my mind is fresher.
I tend to gravitate towards quieter, less touristy places when I travel.
I tend to lean more towards practical solutions rather than creative ones.
I tend to be more of an introvert, so I prefer smaller gatherings.

PHẦN 4: CÁC CÁCH NÓI SINH ĐỘNG HƠN

"I'm more of a [noun] person":

Đây là cách nói rất tự nhiên trong spoken English:

"I'm more of a morning person — I'm useless at night."
"I'm more of a coffee person than tea."
"I'm more of an outdoor person — I feel restless staying inside."
"I'm more of a one-on-one person — big groups tire me out."

"What I really enjoy is / What appeals to me is":

"What I really enjoy about cooking is the creativity involved."
"What appeals to me about city life is the energy and pace."
"What I find most rewarding is when you can see your own progress."
"What draws me to classical music is how layered and complex it is."

"I have a soft spot for":

Dùng khi muốn thể hiện sự yêu thích đặc biệt, hơi sentimental:

"I have a soft spot for old black-and-white films."
"I have a soft spot for street food — there's something very authentic about it."

"[A] appeals to me more / [A] suits me better":

"City life appeals to me more because I like having everything close by."
"Working independently suits me better — I focus better without distractions."
"The afternoon suits me best for exercise."

PHẦN 5: GIẢI THÍCH LÝ DO — Mở rộng câu trả lời

Sở thích mà không có lý do nghe rất flat. Luôn thêm lý do bằng:

Chuỗi sở thích + lý do:

[Preference], because / since / as [reason].
[Preference]. The thing is, [reason].
[Preference]. I suppose it's because [reason].

"I prefer cities because there's always something to do — I'd get bored in the countryside."
"I'd rather study in the morning. I suppose it's because I'm naturally more alert then."
"I tend to prefer solo travel. The thing is, you have complete freedom to change plans whenever you like."
"Reading appeals to me more than watching TV, mainly because books allow you to use your imagination."

Thêm ví dụ cụ thể:

"I really enjoy cooking — last weekend, for instance, I tried making a traditional Vietnamese dish from scratch, which took most of the day but was incredibly satisfying."

PHẦN 6: MẪU CÂU TRẢ LỜI HOÀN CHỈNH

Part 1 — Trả lời ngắn nhưng hoàn chỉnh:

Q: "Do you prefer spending time indoors or outdoors?" "I'd say I'm more of an outdoor person, honestly. I tend to feel a bit restless when I've been inside for too long. What I really enjoy is being somewhere with green spaces — parks, forests, that kind of thing. Even just a walk outside makes me feel more focused."

Part 2 — Kể về sở thích trong bài mô tả:

"One thing that stands out about this hobby is that I've always had a soft spot for photography, even before I owned a decent camera. What appeals to me most is the way a single photo can capture something that words can't quite describe. I tend to prefer candid shots over posed ones — I'd rather catch a genuine moment than stage something perfect."

Lỗi thường gặp

Lỗi 1: prefer + than (sai)

❌ "I prefer coffee than tea."
✅ "I prefer coffee to tea."
✅ "I prefer drinking coffee to drinking tea."

Lỗi 2: I'd rather + to-infinitive (sai)

❌ "I'd rather to stay home."
✅ "I'd rather stay home." (bare infinitive — không có "to")

Lỗi 3: Trả lời chỉ có "I like X" mà không giải thích

❌ "I prefer the city. I like it."
✅ "I prefer city life, mainly because everything is so accessible — shops, restaurants, transport. I suppose I'd find it quite isolating living somewhere too quiet."

Lỗi 4: Lặp "I prefer... I prefer... I prefer..."

❌ "I prefer cities. I also prefer modern buildings. I prefer having public transport."
✅ "I prefer cities — I'm particularly drawn to the energy and convenience. What I enjoy most is having good public transport, and I tend to appreciate modern architecture too."

Tóm tắt nhanh

PREFER:
  I prefer A to B. (không dùng "than")
  I prefer V-ing to V-ing.
  → dùng cho sở thích chung

I'D RATHER:
  I'd rather + bare infinitive (than...)
  → dùng cho tình huống cụ thể hoặc lựa chọn hiện tại

SINH ĐỘNG HƠN:
  I tend to prefer...
  I'm more of a [noun] person.
  What appeals to me is...
  What I really enjoy is...
  I have a soft spot for...
  [A] suits me better / appeals to me more.

LUÔN THÊM LÝ DO:
  ...because / since / mainly because
  I suppose it's because...
  The thing is,...
  + ví dụ cụ thể từ trải nghiệm cá nhân

IELTS TIP:
  Part 1 → sở thích + lý do ngắn (2-3 câu)
  Part 2 → sở thích + lý do + ví dụ cụ thể (5-6 câu)

Expressing Preferences Naturally — Thể hiện sở thích tự nhiên trong IELTS Speaking