Rather than: comparative preference

On this page:
Prefer X to Y
Would rather
Rather than–preference
Rather than–avoidance
Rather than Complements
Bare Infin vs Gerund
Prep Complements
Common Mistakes
Grammar Notes
Practice 1
Practice 2

Rather

Preference and Avoidance

Would prefer X to Y

WOULD PREFER TO
We express preference with would prefer X to Y. Parallel (syntactically alike) wording is used.
SUBJ + VERB	OPTION 1	PREP	OPTION 2
I would prefer	walking (gerund)	to	driving (gerund)
I would prefer	tea (noun)	to	coffee (noun)
I would prefer	brown (adjective)	to	black boots. (adjective)
I would prefer	going now (gerund clause)	to	going later (gerund clause)
I would prefer	outside (prep. phrase)	to	inside (prep. phrase)

Rather than vs. To

WOULD PREFER…RATHER THAN
Switch to rather than before an infinitive clauses or that-clauses. Avoid combinations such as "to to", "to that", or "than that".
SUBJ + VERB	INFINITIVE / THAT	RATHER THAN	INFINITIVE / THAT
I would prefer	to walk	rather than *to	to drive.
I would prefer	that we walk	rather than *to	(that we) drive.
I would prefer	to be done	rather than *to	to be working.

(MWDEU 760)

parallel (adj.) – having the same word form; being syntactically alike, from the same category
categories: NP –noun phrase; N – noun; VP – verb phrase; V – verb; Det – determiner; PP – prepositional phrase; P – preposition; AdvP – adverb phrase; Adv – adverb; AdjP– adjective phrase; Adj – adjective

Would Rather

Asking and Stating Preference

Rather…or

WOULD you RATHER X OR Y
We use would you rather X or Y? to ask preference between two items. Parallel (syntactically alike) wording is used before and after to. (Or functions as a conjunction.)
AUX + SUBJ	OPTION 1	OPTION 2
Would you	rather drive	or walk? (parallel verb phrases)
Would you	rather leave at 8:00	or wait until 9:00?
Would you	rather that I call you	or that you call me?

Rather… than

WOULD RATHER X THAN Y
Would rather than also coordinates two options phrased with parallel wording. (When parallel phrasing is used than is more conjunction. When non parallel phrasing is used than is more preposition.)
SUBJ + AUX	OPTION 1	OPTION 2
I would	rather drive	than walk.
I would	rather leave at 8:00	than 8:00.
I would	rather that I call you	than (that) you call me.

Related page: Would

Rather than

Expressing Preference vs. Avoidance

Rather than — preference

#1 RATHER THAN — X NOT Y
We use rather than to show comparative preference for the first of two paired (parallel) elements. Rather than coordinates syntactically alike items. The meaning is X (and) not Y (conjunction) "in stead of". The passive voice can be formed in these sentences.
CLAUSE	COORDINATOR	COORDINATED CLAUSE
Ed wanted less	rather than in stead of / (and) not	more homework. (parallel adjectives)
Ed worked carelessly	rather than	carefully on his projects. (parallel adverbs)
Ed wanted success	rather than	failure. (parallel nouns)
Ed kept	rather than	told his secrets. (verbs)
Ed walked	rather than	ran. (verbs)
Ed enjoys walking for relaxation	rather than	running. (gerund – nonfinite clause)
Ed prefers to walk	rather than	run. (infinitive – nonfinite clause)

(CaGEL not in coordination 811, rather, 1128)

Rather than — avoidance

#2 RATHER THAN — CHOOSING X TO AVOID Y
Rather than also functions as an adverb with a comparative meaning "taking the contrary choice as the preferred one", perhaps, as a judgment of what is right or logical. This particular use of rather than is commonly followed by a bare infinitive (base verb form) . The verb of the main clause is in present, past , or a modal verb from. The passive voice cannot be formed..
CLAUSE – OPTION 1	ADVERB + PREP	CLAUSE COMPLEMENT
Ed went to jail	rather than	pay his parking fines.
Ed will go to court	rather than	pay his parking fines.
Ed would eat nails	rather than	pay his parking tickets.
Ed preferred to go to jail	rather than	pay an unfair parking fine.
Ed contests a ticket in court	rather than	just *pay / paying it. (ex. 3rd per.)
Ed has been making excuses	rather than	*do / doing his homework
Ed is making excuses	rather than	*do / doing his homework

*Note that 3rd-person, present tense sounds awkward with the bare infinitive verb form, so speakers often switch to a gerund.
contest (v.) – oppose something (an action, decision, or theory) as mistaken or wrong
(2) Merriam Webster Dictionary expresses the meaning as " indicate negation as a contrary choice or wish".
(2) Huddleston expresses the meaning as "taking the contrary choice as the preferred one" (GGEL rather, 1128; expressions based on comparison, 1317)

Rather than

Verb Complements

Rather than – Preference

#1 RATHER THAN — X NOT Y
Rather than (X not Y) coordinates two parallel verb forms. The verb after rather than has a parallel verb form
SUBJECT	VERB	COORDINATOR	PARALLEL VERB FORM
Ed	walks (present)	rather than	drives to work. (present)
Ed	walked (past)	rather than	drove to work. (past)
Ed	will walk (modal) prefers to walk (VP)	rather than	drive to work. (bare form)
Ed	is walking has been walking enjoys walking	rather than	driving to work. (gerund)
Eddie Ed	was walked has walked	rather than	driven to school. (passive + participle) driven to work. (passive + participle)

Rather than – Avoidance

#2 RATHER THAN — CHOOSING X TO AVOID Y
Rather than (X to avoid Y) than is a preposition with a clause as its complement. The clause usually has a base verb form (bare infinitive), but may also have a gerund as will be discussed in the next section.
SUBJECT	VERB	ADVERB + PREP	CLAUSE: BARE-FORM VERB
Ed	prefers to bike	rather than	waste time waiting for buses. (driving is a faster way to get there)
Ed	bikes to work	rather than	%waste / wasting time waiting for buses. (driving is a faster way to get there)
Ed	will take a pay cut	rather than	lay off any coworkers. (saving money allows keeping employees)
He	will ride his bike	rather than	get caught in traffic. (driving involves traffic, the train does not)
Ed	went to jail	rather than	pay his parking fines. (jail time takes the place of paying fines)
Ed	sped down the freeway	rather than	miss his meeting (drove fast to be on time)

%Some speakers use the bare infinitive form, other speakers use a gerund with 3rd person sing., present tense.

Rather than

Factors determining the complement

(Advanced)

Rather than verb…

ADJUNCT CLAUSE WITH BARE INFINITIVE
When a rather than clause begins a sentence, the verb form can be the bare infinitival (base verb form) or the gerund verb form. ¹The bare infinitive is the preferred form.	The choice depends on 1) whether the sentence is worded in a parallel manner, and 2) whether parallel wording of the verb phrase in the sentence will allow it.
BARE INFINITIVE	PARALLEL VERB PHRASE
Rather than ¹take Rather than taking the bus,	we drive our car to work.
Rather than ¹take / Rather than taking the bus,	Ed will/ could/ should/ walk to work. (modal)
Rather than ¹take Rather than taking the bus,	Ed walks to work. (present habit)
Rather than ¹take Rather than taking the bus,	Ed prefers to walk to work. (present + infinitive clause)
Rather than %take Rather than taking the bus,	Ed enjoys walking to work. (present + gerund clause)
Rather than %take Rather than taking the bus,	Ed walked. (% past tense)

¹The bare infinitive is the preferred form.
% usage varies
bare infinitive – the infinitive verb form without to

Rather than verb-ing…

ADJUNCT CLAUSE WITH GERUND
We tend to use a gerund form in the initial clause when the coordinated elements are not parallel or not "balanced" (similar in length.)	The gerund form is used when (1) the second coordinated element is not syntactically alike (unparallel) or lengthy; (2) the verb is a past or progressive form,
GERUND	UNP ARALLEL VERB PHRASE / PROGRESSIVE
Rather than %take, Rather than taking the bus,	we much prefer to drive whenever we can. (lengthy, unparallel)
Rather than %take Rather than taking the bus,	Ed will be walking to work. (progressive)
Rather than %take, Rather than taking the bus,	Ed is walking to work. (progressive)
Rather than %take, Rather than taking the bus,	Ed was walking to work. (progressive)

Rather than verb… / Rather than verbing…

OPINION — SUBJECTIVE
A bare infinitive form is used when one takes a stand in the judgment of truth, right, or what is logical. The person takes the contrary choice as the preferred one to avoid injustice. The main clause verb is usually present, past or will or would.
MODAL / PAST / PRESENT	BARE FORM VERB
They will /would go / would have gone on strike rather than	accept what management offers them. (Accepting the offer would be humiliating.)
He went to jail rather than	pay his parking tickets. (Paying his parking tickets would be an admission of guilt.)
He made excuses rather than	do his homework. (Doing his homework would require too much effort.)
We reason with him rather than	quarrel with him. (Getting angry would be less effective.)

DESCRIIPTION — OBJECTIVE
A gerund form is used with a more descriptive effect, in which the focus is more on the activity (aspect) and not opinion (modality). The verb in the main clause is usually progressive or present perfect.
PROGRESSIVE / PERFECT	GERUND
They are going on strike rather than	accepting what management offered them.
He was going to jail rather than	paying his parking fines.
He has been making excuses rather than	doing his homework.
We have reasoned with him rather than	quarreling with him.

modality (n.) – the speaker's attitude, opinion or evaluation of the activity; also see Modal Review – modality
aspect (n.) – indicates information, such as duration, completion, or frequency, as it relates to the time of action
quarrel (v.) – fight, get angry with

Rather than / Instead of

Complement Types of Prepositions

INSTEAD OF	COMPLEMENT TYPE	RATHER THAN
He took the laptop instead of the iPad.	NP (noun phrase)	He took the laptop rather than the iPad.
I'll go instead of you.	noun	I'll go rather than you.
We'll go now instead of in the morning.	PP	We'll go now rather than in the morning.
I felt humiliated instead of proud of my self.	AdjP	I felt humiliated rather than proud of my self.
He spoke timidly instead of competently.	AdvjP	He spoke timidly rather than competently.
We want them to be bold instead of be cautious.	bare infinitival	*We want them to be bold rather than be cautious.
*It's better to continue instead of (to) wait.	infinitival	It's better to continue rather than (to) wait.
We prefer moving on instead of waiting.	gerund-participle	We prefer moving on rather than waiting.
He said that "it" was regretful instead of that he was sorry.	declarative clause	He said that "it" was regretful rather than that he was sorry.
They told me I had tried hard instead of whether I had succeeded.	closed interrogative	They told me I had tried hard rather than whether I had succeeded.
They told me where I had to go instead of when I had to go.	open interrogative	They told me where I had to go rather thanwhen I had to go.
He asked that they be heard instead of that they be sent away.	subjunctive clause	He asked that they be heard rather than that they be sent away.

"The prototypical PP has the form of a preposition as head and a NP as complement… Prepositions allow a wide range of complement type." (CaGEL 642)

Common Mistakes

Errors and Solutions

PROBLEM	SOLUTION
FORMALITY We took a taxi rather than getting lost. (informal - but not incorrect)	We took a taxi rather than get lost on foot. The bare infinitive is considered more formal use by some. This is a "prescriptivist" argument. It could be a preference for "active" or "dynamic" verb forms (bare inf.) rather than "descriptive verb forms (gerund). See "bare infinitive vs. gerund". "Rather than"
BARE INFINITIVE We decided to take a map with us rather than to get lost.	We decided to take a map with us rather than [to] get lost. (The bare infinitive does not include to.)
AWKWARD TENSE USE Rather than get lost, we are taking a map with us. (awkward wording – tense use)	Rather than get lost, we'll take a map with us. (Use a modal or present tense.)
Rather than get lost, we have taken a map with us. (awkward wording – tense use)	Rather than get lost, we take a map with us. (Use present – habitual.) Rather than getting lost, we took a map with us. (Use past – habitual.)
PLACEMENT OF "RATHER THAN" He rather went to jail than pay his fines. (awkward wording – placement) He went rather to jail than to pay his fines.	He went to jail rather than pay his fines. (Place rather than after the first verb phrase if coordinating two verb phrases.) He would rather go to jail than pay his fines. (Place rather before the verb if using would rather.)
"RATHER THAN" WITH 3RD PERSON-PRESENT TENSE He asks for what he wants rather than get / getting upset. 3rd person – rather than ( X to avoid Y) COMPARE TO: He asks for what he wants rather than whines. rather than (X not Y)	He asks for what he wants rather than getting upset. (While the bare infinitive may be considered more formal by some, other speakers use the -ing form here. Note that the bare infinitives seems to sound better in coordination with modal, present and sometimes past tense verbs.)
"RATHER THAN" IN A COMPARATIVE SENTENCE The group is more active in pursuing their own interests rather than the interests of the country.	The group is more active in pursuing their own interests than the interests of the country. (In a comparative sentence of this type, use more…than or -er…than.)
PARALLEL WORDING The security of the company and its assets rather than individual security has priority. (parallel / unparallel wording)	The company security rather than individual security has priority. or The company rather than individual security has priority. Rather than individual security, it is the security of the company that has priority. (Sometimes a sentence can be reworded to have parallel phrasing or "equal weight". Typically, we tend to put "wordier" information at the end of the sentence. If rewording is not possible, use rather than in an adjunct clause, so that the wordier clause can be placed after it.)

PROBLEM

SOLUTION

FORMALITY

We took a taxi rather than getting lost. (informal - but not incorrect)

We took a taxi rather than get lost on foot.
The bare infinitive is considered more formal use by some. This is a "prescriptivist" argument. It could be a preference for "active" or "dynamic" verb forms (bare inf.) rather than "descriptive verb forms (gerund). See "bare infinitive vs. gerund".

"Rather than"

BARE INFINITIVE

We decided to take a map with us rather than to get lost.

We decided to take a map with us rather than [to] get lost.
(The bare infinitive does not include to.)

AWKWARD TENSE USE

Rather than get lost, we are taking a map with us. (awkward wording – tense use)

Rather than get lost, we'll take a map with us. (Use a modal or present tense.)

Rather than get lost, we have taken a map with us. (awkward wording – tense use)

Rather than get lost, we take a map with us. (Use present – habitual.)
Rather than getting lost, we took a map with us. (Use past – habitual.)

PLACEMENT OF "RATHER THAN"

*He rather went to jail than pay his fines. (awkward wording – placement)
*He went rather to jail than to pay his fines.

He went to jail rather than pay his fines. (Place rather than after the first verb phrase if coordinating two verb phrases.)
He would rather go to jail than pay his fines. (Place rather before the verb if using would rather.)

"RATHER THAN" WITH 3RD PERSON-PRESENT TENSE

He asks for what he wants rather than get / getting upset. 3rd person – rather than ( X to avoid Y)
COMPARE TO: He asks for what he wants rather than whines. rather than (X not Y)

He asks for what he wants rather than getting upset. (While the bare infinitive may be considered more formal by some, other speakers use the -ing form here. Note that the bare infinitives seems to sound better in coordination with modal, present and sometimes past tense verbs.)

"RATHER THAN" IN A COMPARATIVE SENTENCE

The group is more active in pursuing their own interests rather than the interests of the country.

The group is more active in pursuing their own interests than the interests of the country.
(In a comparative sentence of this type, use more…than or -er…than.)

PARALLEL WORDING

The security of the company and its assets rather than individual security has priority. (parallel / unparallel wording)

The company security rather than individual security has priority. or
The company rather than individual security has priority.
Rather than individual security, it is the security of the company that has priority.

(Sometimes a sentence can be reworded to have parallel phrasing or "equal weight". Typically, we tend to put "wordier" information at the end of the sentence. If rewording is not possible, use rather than in an adjunct clause, so that the wordier clause can be placed after it.)

Grammar Notes

Traditional Grammar and Linguistic Description

Advanced

TRADITIONAL DESCRIPTION	LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION
Conjunction or Preposition "The question that puzzled Fowler was whether rather than always operated as a conjunction and thus had the same construction before as it had after, or whether it could also operate as a preposition and so connect dissimilar constructions…. We will simply point that rather than does function like a preposition. 'Rather than argue for the overthrow of the entire system, the Colonists realized...that the basic values of British law were still valid. — Daniel Sisson. But when parallel constructions appear on each side of rather than, it is functioning like a conjunction: " ...implicating them, this time subtly rather than powerfully — J. I. M.Stewart" (MWDEU 797) "Than is both a conjunction and a preposition…. In current usage than is more often a conjunction than a preposition... me after the preposition is more common in speech than in edited prose." (MWDEU 892)	Rather "contains the comparative suffix -er but the original base rather (meaning "soon") has been lost, so that rather is no longer analysable as an inflectional comparative. It nevertheless retains clear semantic and syntactic affinities with ordinary comparative constructions." (CaGEL 1128) Rather than – I'd rather resign than accept such humiliation. "Here it is an adverb with a comparative meaning: approximately "more readily, in preference to". There are also uses where this meaning is largely or wholly lost — a change facilitated by the fact that the morphological base rath- no longer occurs without the -er suffix." (CaGEL 1317) Than — " The most usual position for the comparative is at the end of the clause containing the comparative phrase…" (1106); "Bob is more generous than Liz" — Liz can be regarded as a "reduced clause" or as an "immediate complement NP" (CaGEL 1113)
Rather than (Swan PEU 491) This structure is normally used in "parallel" structures: for example with two adjectives, adverbs, nouns, infinitives or -ing forms.

TRADITIONAL DESCRIPTION

LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION

Conjunction or Preposition "The question that puzzled Fowler was whether rather than always operated as a conjunction and thus had the same construction before as it had after, or whether it could also operate as a preposition and so connect dissimilar constructions…. We will simply point that rather than does function like a preposition.

'Rather than argue for the overthrow of the entire system, the Colonists realized...that the basic values of British law were still valid. — Daniel Sisson.

But when parallel constructions appear on each side of rather than, it is functioning like a conjunction: " ...implicating them, this time subtly rather than powerfully — J. I. M.Stewart"
(MWDEU 797)

"Than is both a conjunction and a preposition…. In current usage than is more often a conjunction than a preposition... me after the preposition is more common in speech than in edited prose." (MWDEU 892)

Rather "contains the comparative suffix -er but the original base rather (meaning "soon") has been lost, so that rather is no longer analysable as an inflectional comparative. It nevertheless retains clear semantic and syntactic affinities with ordinary comparative constructions." (CaGEL 1128)

Rather than – I'd rather resign than accept such humiliation. "Here it is an adverb with a comparative meaning: approximately "more readily, in preference to". There are also uses where this meaning is largely or wholly lost — a change facilitated by the fact that the morphological base rath- no longer occurs without the -er suffix." (CaGEL 1317)

Than — " The most usual position for the comparative is at the end of the clause containing the comparative phrase…" (1106); "Bob is more generous than Liz" — Liz can be regarded as a "reduced clause" or as an "immediate complement NP" (CaGEL 1113)

Rather than (Swan PEU 491)

This structure is normally used in "parallel" structures: for example with two adjectives, adverbs, nouns, infinitives or -ing forms.

Resources

"Rather." Fowler's Modern English Usage. Ed. R. W. Burchfield. Rev. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.
Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. "Rather." The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CaGEL). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. (1128, 1317)
"Rather than." Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (MWDEU). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1994.Print. (760, 797; indirect and matrix-licensed non-finite complements 1262; )
Swan, Michael."Rather than." Practical English Usage. 4th ed. 2009: Oxford University Press. Print. (491.1-4)

Practice 1

Supermarket Grazing

Complete the sentence

Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check 1-10" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.

Rather than lunch, Norman goes to the supermarket and eats food samples.

Feedback 1

In fact, he would rather spend a Saturday afternoon "grazing" at the supermarket than at home.

grazing – lightly eating while walking; mostly said of cattle, sheep and goats

Feedback 2

Norman arrives at the supermarket, picks up a hand-basket and walks down the isle. He goes to the back of the store rather than to find a tasting table.

Feedback 3

Norman prefers to to stand and chat with a person offering samples rather than .

Feedback 4

Complimenting the food server rather than is a great way to get additional samples.
compliment (v.) – express praise or admiration

Feedback 5

Giving away food samples in the store rather than is a better way to introduce a product to shoppers.

Feedback 6

Norman would prefer to take his time to through the fresh fruit section.

Feedback 7

Norman is a person who loves rather than fruit. He tastes every sample of peach, cherry , plum and berry.

Feedback 8

Rather than fill his basket, he his mouth with tasty cut-up pieces of cheese.

Feedback 9

10.

In fact, he'd rather miss a Saturday soccer game than
tasting cheese in the deli section.

give up (v.) – no have, go without

Feedback 10

Weinberg, Gary. "The Definitive Guide for Food Grazing (for free) at Costco." 26 Mar 2010. Web. http://goodgreasyeats.com/2010/03/26/special-report-eat-free-costco/

Grammar-Quizzes.com

PRACTICE ON POINTS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR

Rather

Preference and Avoidance

Would prefer X to Y

Rather than vs. To

Would Rather

Asking and Stating Preference

Rather…or

Rather… than

Rather than

Expressing Preference vs. Avoidance

Rather than — preference

Rather than — avoidance

Rather than

Verb Complements

Rather than – Preference

Rather than – Avoidance

Rather than

Factors determining the complement

Rather than verb…

Rather than verb-ing…

Rather than verb… / Rather than verbing…

Rather than / Instead of

Complement Types of Prepositions

Common Mistakes

Errors and Solutions

Grammar Notes

Traditional Grammar and Linguistic Description

Resources

Practice 1

Supermarket Grazing

Complete the sentence

Practice 2

Ways to Survive Making a Holiday Meal

Decide whether the wording of the sentence is "correct or incorrect" (formal / formal; preferred/ not preferred).