《朗文常用英语正误词典》(上海译文出版社, p. 259) 对 prefer 的用法作了下面的正误分析：
“× I preferred to stay out in the cold rather than spending the night there.
√ I preferred to stay out in the cold rather than spend the night there.
(我宁愿不顾寒冷在外露宿,也不在那地方过夜。)
prefer to do A (rather) than do B(在这个句型里,注意 rather than 之后要接不带 to 的动词不定式。)”
上书所说的错句真是错句吗？
M. Swan 在 Practical English Usage 中对此作了明确的说明：
“当 prefer 和动词不定式连用时,可以用 rather than 来继续。在 rather than 之后可以使用两种结构:不带 to 的动词不定式或者 v-ing:
I would prefer to spend the weekend at home rather than drive/driving all the way to your mother's.
我宁愿在家里度周末，而不愿意开车跑那么远的路去你母亲家度周末。”
因此,下面两个句子都是正确的:
-
I would prefer to read a poorly-written book rather than read a poorly-written review of it.
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I would prefer to read a poorly-written book rather than reading a poorly-written review of it. 我宁愿读一本写得不好的书，而不愿读一篇写得不好的关于它的书评。