Instead of is a preposition and is always followed by a gerund or noun, never a bare infinitive, as in instead of complaining, she took action. Rather than is more flexible, taking a bare infinitive or a gerund, but whatever form is used in the main clause must be echoed after it, as in she chose to resign rather than accept the terms.
Grammar Rule
Instead of is a preposition and is always followed by a gerund or noun, never a bare infinitive. Rather than is more flexible: it can be followed by a bare infinitive or a gerund. The governing principle is parallelism — whatever form is used in the main clause must be echoed after rather than.
Rather Than, Instead Of + Parallel Structures: Rules and Examples
| Connector | Form required | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Instead of | preposition + gerund/noun, never bare infinitive | Instead of complaining, she took action. |
| Rather than | bare infinitive or gerund, must match main clause | She chose to resign rather than accept the terms. |
Remember: Instead of is a preposition and always takes a gerund or noun, while rather than can take either a bare infinitive or a gerund — the key rule is to keep the verb form parallel with the rest of the sentence.
Practice Test
Instructions
Answer each question in the test below using rather than and instead of with correct parallel structures. You will get a new random set of questions every time you retake the test, plus a downloadable results summary with your name and score at the end.
C2-56 "Rather Than" / "Instead Of" + Parallel Structures
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Frequently Asked Questions
What form does instead of require?
A gerund or noun, never a bare infinitive, as in instead of complaining, she took action.
What form does rather than allow?
A bare infinitive or a gerund, as in she chose to resign rather than accept the terms.
What governing principle applies to rather than?
Parallelism; the form used after it must echo the main clause.
Is instead of a preposition?
Yes, always followed by a gerund or noun.