Dictionary formmalo, malle, malui
Translation
to prefer, would rather
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Examples
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I prefer peace to war.
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Would you rather have water or wine?
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I would rather die than be a slave.
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I would rather be good than seem good.
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We would rather stay at home.
Malo, malle, malui is irregular, a contraction of magis volo, "I want more". It goes like volo with ma- in front, but with the v kept only where volo has vi- or vu-: malo, mavis, mavult, malumus, mavultis, malunt. The infinitive is malle, the subjunctive malim, the imperfect malebam and the perfect malui, all regular from there. It has no imperative and no participles. What you prefer takes the accusative or an infinitive, and what you reject follows quam: pacem malo quam bellum.
The trap is spelling. The verb malo is written exactly like malo, the dative and ablative singular of malus, "bad", as in libera nos a malo. Context nearly always decides: a verb wants a subject and usually a quam. Malo has left no English word of its own.
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malo: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "malo" (to prefer, would rather): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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