prefer X-ing to Y-ing (Unit 59)

Pattern

prefer X-ing to Y-ing

Both verbs take the -ing form (gerund). The to here is a preposition, not the infinitive marker — that is why the second verb also gets -ing.

She prefers working with other people to being on her own.
I prefer swimming to running.

The common error

Writers treat to as the infinitive marker and drop -ing on the second verb:

• ❌ “She prefers working with other people to be on her own.”

That breaks the parallel structure. If to were the infinitive marker, the sentence would mean she prefers the act of working to the act of being on her own — same intended meaning, but ungrammatical because the rule of this construction requires both gerunds.

When to drop -ing

You can drop the second -ing when the second item is a bare noun, not a verb:

• “I prefer tea to coffee.” — both nouns, no -ing needed.
• “I prefer swimming to running.” — both verbs, both -ing required.

You cannot mix: “I prefer swimming to run” is wrong, and “I prefer tea to swimming” mixes noun and verb (acceptable, but reads oddly — usually one or the other is meant).

Variant for one-time actions

would rather + base verb expresses a single decision rather than a general preference:

• “I’d rather work with others than be alone.”

The would rather clause uses a bare infinitive, not -ing, and the second half uses than + bare infinitive. This is paired with prefer...to in Murphy Unit 59 for contrast, not as a substitute — they have different grammar (gerund vs base form).

Third variant: prefer + to-infinitive + rather than

prefer + to-infinitive + rather than + bare infinitive — the alternative with explicit “rather than”:

• She prefers to go to the cinema rather than watch movies at home.

The first verb takes to-infinitive, the second takes bare infinitive (no “to” after “rather than”).

The three forms of preference (same meaning):

Form	Structure	Example
1	prefer + -ing + to + -ing	She prefers going to the cinema to watching movies at home.
2	prefer + to-infinitive + rather than + bare infinitive	She prefers to go to the cinema rather than watch movies at home.
3	would rather + bare + than + bare	She’d rather go to the cinema than watch movies at home.

All three mean the same thing — form 2 is what exercise prompts with “prefer to … rather than …” expect.

Source

Murphy, English Grammar in Use, Unit 59: prefer and would rather.