"Rather Than" and Parallel Structure in Technical English
5 exercises — practise parallel structure with "rather than" when comparing technical approaches.
0 / 20 completed
1 / 20
Which sentence correctly keeps parallel gerund forms on both sides of "rather than"?
"Rather than rewriting the whole module, we patched the two failing functions" is correct: the gerund "rewriting" matches the implied gerund idea of the contrasted action, and the sentence stays clean and parallel. Option B uses the bare infinitive "rewrite" and adds a redundant "this way instead, too". Option C incorrectly adds "to" before the gerund clause. Option D breaks tense consistency and adds a confusing tag.
2 / 20
Choose the sentence that correctly matches infinitive with infinitive across a "rather than" comparison of two proposed actions.
"It would be better to add a feature flag rather than to deploy directly to all users" is correct: both compared actions use the to-infinitive, keeping the structure parallel (the second "to" can optionally be omitted, but including it explicitly is also correct and clear). Option B mixes an infinitive with a gerund. Option C starts with a gerund but switches to infinitive. Option D drops "than" entirely.
3 / 20
Select the sentence that correctly keeps parallel structure when "rather than" starts the sentence and both compared items are noun phrases.
"Rather than a full rewrite, the team chose a targeted refactor" is correct: both sides are noun phrases ("a full rewrite" and, implicitly, "a targeted refactor"), keeping the comparison structurally parallel. Option B awkwardly invents an ungrammatical verb "targeted-refactor". Option C mismatches a gerund clause against a noun phrase, though this specific pairing is more borderline, it strays from the cleaner noun-noun parallel shown in option A. Option D scrambles the fixed phrase's word order.
4 / 20
Which sentence correctly avoids the common error of mixing a gerund and a bare infinitive across "rather than" in a design recommendation?
"Rather than polling the endpoint every second, subscribe to the webhook instead" is correct: the gerund "polling" describes the rejected approach, and the imperative "subscribe" gives the recommended action clearly, without a structural mismatch. Option B reverses the forms, putting the bare form first and the gerund second. Option C mismatches gerund with a to-infinitive main clause. Option D adds "to" before the gerund clause, which is ungrammatical.
5 / 20
Choose the sentence that correctly uses parallel past-tense clauses (not gerunds) on both sides of "rather than", describing what actually happened versus what didn't.
"The team fixed the root cause rather than applied a temporary workaround" is correct: with two finite past-tense verbs describing completed actions by the same subject, matching finite forms ("fixed" ... "applied") keeps the comparison parallel. Option B switches to a gerund, breaking the finite-verb parallelism established by "fixed". Option C incorrectly uses a to-infinitive. Option D introduces an unrelated passive clause with a different subject, breaking parallel structure entirely.
6 / 20
Alex commented on a code review: 'The server should handle errors gracefully rather than simply crashing.' Which revision best maintains parallel structure while suggesting an alternative approach?
The key here is maintaining parallel structure. 'Failing,' 'throwing exceptions,' and 'returning a 500 status code' are all verbs describing actions. Using 'rather than' with a different verb type (like 'crashing') disrupts the parallel construction. Option 2 provides consistent action-based comparisons.
7 / 20
Sarah drafted a Slack message for her team: 'We need to update the database schema rather than designing a completely new one.' Which option best reflects the correct usage of 'rather than' in this context?
When using 'rather than,' you generally want to compare actions or approaches. Option 1 uses verbs ('creating,' 'designing') that are parallel in their function. The other options introduce different parts of speech (e.g., 'developing', 'implementing') which breaks the intended parallel structure.
8 / 20
Ben wrote a PR description: 'The API endpoint should respond with JSON rather than HTML.' Which sentence demonstrates the most effective use of parallel structure following this comparison?
This question tests parallel structure with noun phrases. 'Responding with JSON' and 'generating an HTML page' are both describing *how* something is produced. Option 3 maintains this consistent description of output formats. The other options introduce different grammatical elements (e.g., verbs like 'returning', 'sending') that disrupt the parallelism.
9 / 20
Chloe was updating her standup: 'We need to prioritize bug fixes rather than adding new features.' Which sentence maintains correct parallel structure when describing the contrast?
The parallel structure here focuses on actions. 'Implementing,' 'developing,' and 'writing' are all verbs representing different types of development activities. Option 1 correctly mirrors this pattern with 'functionalities', 'modules', and 'code.' The other options use nouns which creates a less direct comparison.
10 / 20
David wrote a code review comment: 'The new algorithm should be more efficient rather than relying on older methods.' Which sentence best illustrates the correct parallel structure to provide an alternative?
This tests the use of 'rather than' with nouns. 'Techniques,' 'legacy code,' and 'a complex solution' are all types of approaches or methods. They create a parallel comparison to the original statement about efficiency. Option 1 uses verbs which breaks the intended structure.
11 / 20
Alex commented on a code review: 'The server should handle errors gracefully rather than simply crashing.' Which revision best maintains parallel structure while suggesting an alternative approach?
The key here is maintaining parallel structure. 'Failing,' 'throwing exceptions,' and 'returning a 500 status code' are all verbs describing actions. Using 'rather than' with a different verb type (like 'crashing') disrupts the parallel construction. Option 2 provides consistent action-based comparisons.
12 / 20
Sarah drafted a Slack message for her team: 'We need to update the database schema rather than designing a completely new one.' Which option best reflects the correct usage of 'rather than' in this context?
When using 'rather than,' you generally want to compare actions or approaches. Option 1 uses verbs ('creating,' 'designing') that are parallel in their function. The other options introduce different parts of speech (e.g., 'developing', 'implementing') which breaks the intended parallel structure.
13 / 20
Ben wrote a PR description: 'The API endpoint should respond with JSON rather than HTML.' Which sentence demonstrates the most effective use of parallel structure following this comparison?
This question tests parallel structure with noun phrases. 'Responding with JSON' and 'generating an HTML page' are both describing *how* something is produced. Option 3 maintains this consistent description of output formats. The other options introduce different grammatical elements (e.g., verbs like 'returning', 'sending') that disrupt the parallelism.
14 / 20
Chloe was updating her standup: 'We need to prioritize bug fixes rather than adding new features.' Which sentence maintains correct parallel structure when describing the contrast?
The parallel structure here focuses on actions. 'Implementing,' 'developing,' and 'writing' are all verbs representing different types of development activities. Option 1 correctly mirrors this pattern with 'functionalities', 'modules', and 'code.' The other options use nouns which creates a less direct comparison.
15 / 20
David wrote a code review comment: 'The new algorithm should be more efficient rather than relying on older methods.' Which sentence best illustrates the correct parallel structure to provide an alternative?
This tests the use of 'rather than' with nouns. 'Techniques,' 'legacy code,' and 'a complex solution' are all types of approaches or methods. They create a parallel comparison to the original statement about efficiency. Option 1 uses verbs which breaks the intended structure.
16 / 20
Alex commented on a code review: 'The server should handle errors gracefully rather than simply crashing.' Which revision best maintains parallel structure while suggesting an alternative approach?
The key here is maintaining parallel structure. 'Failing,' 'throwing exceptions,' and 'returning a 500 status code' are all verbs describing actions. Using 'rather than' with a different verb type (like 'crashing') disrupts the parallel construction. Option 2 provides consistent action-based comparisons.
17 / 20
Sarah drafted a Slack message for her team: 'We need to update the database schema rather than designing a completely new one.' Which option best reflects the correct usage of 'rather than' in this context?
When using 'rather than,' you generally want to compare actions or approaches. Option 1 uses verbs ('creating,' 'designing') that are parallel in their function. The other options introduce different parts of speech (e.g., 'developing', 'implementing') which breaks the intended parallel structure.
18 / 20
Ben wrote a PR description: 'The API endpoint should respond with JSON rather than HTML.' Which sentence demonstrates the most effective use of parallel structure following this comparison?
This question tests parallel structure with noun phrases. 'Responding with JSON' and 'generating an HTML page' are both describing *how* something is produced. Option 3 maintains this consistent description of output formats. The other options introduce different grammatical elements (e.g., verbs like 'returning', 'sending') that disrupt the parallelism.
19 / 20
Chloe was updating her standup: 'We need to prioritize bug fixes rather than adding new features.' Which sentence maintains correct parallel structure when describing the contrast?
The parallel structure here focuses on actions. 'Implementing,' 'developing,' and 'writing' are all verbs representing different types of development activities. Option 1 correctly mirrors this pattern with 'functionalities', 'modules', and 'code.' The other options use nouns which creates a less direct comparison.
20 / 20
David wrote a code review comment: 'The new algorithm should be more efficient rather than relying on older methods.' Which sentence best illustrates the correct parallel structure to provide an alternative?
This tests the use of 'rather than' with nouns. 'Techniques,' 'legacy code,' and 'a complex solution' are all types of approaches or methods. They create a parallel comparison to the original statement about efficiency. Option 1 uses verbs which breaks the intended structure.
What will I practise in ""Rather Than" and Parallel Structure — IT Grammar Exercise"?
Practise keeping grammatically parallel gerund, infinitive, or finite-verb forms on both sides of "rather than" when comparing two technical approaches in
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 20 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
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Who writes these exercises?
Every exercise is written by the CoderSlingo team, drawing on real workplace English used in IT roles, then reviewed for accuracy and clarity.