complex sentence frame · neutral

Rather than + V-ing

Band 4-5speakingtask2

Expresses preference or choice: 'prefer ... to ...'; commonly followed by -ing or noun when the subject is shared.

Examples

“She chose to complain, rather than accepting the unfair grade.”

“Rather than driving, he decided to cycle to work.”

“I prefer reading books rather than watching TV in the evenings.”

Band 8 sentence

“Rather than relying solely on test scores, the university is considering a holistic review that values extracurricular contributions.”

Collocations

  • rather than + V-ing / noun

Word family

rather than conjunction/phrase

Common mistakes

She prefers rather to complain than accept it.→She prefers complaining rather than accepting it.

I chose to walk rather than to take the bus.→I chose to walk rather than take the bus.

Say it for a higher band

5instead of + noun/V-ing→6rather than + V-inf / V-ing (informal choices)→7+Rather than + V-ing

Synonyms

instead of

Easily confused

Instead of + V-ing

“Instead of complaining, she searched for a solution.”

Related words

By the time + clause, clauseWhether + clause (or not)So + adjective + that + clauseEven if + clause, clauseSuch + (a/an) + noun + that + clauseIf + past perfect, would have + past participleOn the one hand + clause; on the other hand + clauseGiven that + clause, + clause

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In Complex sentences

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