Questions & Answers about Мне скорее хочется отдохнуть, чем работать.
Why is the sentence built with мне хочется instead of я хочу?
In Russian, хочется is an impersonal verb that takes a dative experiencer (here мне) and a following infinitive. It literally means “it feels like doing something to me.” This construction is more idiomatic and softer than the direct я хочу. Both are grammatically correct, but мне хочется is the usual way to express “I feel like…” or “I’d rather…” in Russian.
What does скорее mean here, and is it related to скоро?
Here скорее functions as a comparative particle meaning “rather” or “sooner” in the sense of preference (“I’d rather rest…”). It is not related to скоро (“soon”). So Мне скорее хочется отдохнуть… means “I’d rather rest…,” not “I soon want to rest….”
Why are отдохнуть and работать in the infinitive after хочется?
The impersonal verb хочется requires an infinitive to specify the action you feel like doing. In this sentence, отдохнуть (to rest) and работать (to work) are the two actions being compared.
Why is отдохнуть perfective while работать is imperfective? Don’t they need to match?