"Rather than defend myself" <--Why are we allowed to use an infinitive after this preposition?

Question

Rather than defend myself, I took a deep breath and tried to see his point of view.

In the above sentence, than is a preposition. So I thought the verb defend should have a form of -ing like than defending myself.

Why is the verb defend in the plain form?

It may relate to another question today where a preposition is followed by a gerund or noun. This question has a preposition followed by a transitive verb and an object. — Andrew Leach, Sep 20 '17 at 16:43
Yes, the explanation is that that is how native speakers talk. — Arm the good guys in America, Sep 20 '17 at 16:45

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 20 '17 at 01:00

3

I think "than" is being used as a subordinating conjunction - introducing an exception or contrast. So I am not sure your concern applies.

answered Sep 20 '17 at 01:00

dmh

I know dictionaries aren't the best sources for grammar information, but Merriam-Webster seems to support its use as a conjunction. Although perhaps the best known example of than+verb is "easier said than done" where it's used with a past participle. – Stuart F Dec 18 '23 at 12:30

1 Answers1