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How should the following phrase be written:

"Billy is quite confused, so rather than sleep, he ponders."

Would the verb sleep, always be in the plural form and never sleeps?

user213321
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1 Answers1

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As Wayfaring Stranger suggested, the present participle would also work:

[1] Billy is quite confused, so rather than s̲l̲e̲e̲p̲i̲n̲g̲, he ponders.

The various functions of rather than

Rather than is a bit of a grammatical jack-of-all-trades, and it can function as quasi-coordinator [2a], a subordinator [2b], or a preposition [2c].

[2] a. He ponders rather than s̲l̲e̲e̲p̲s̲.
       b. He ponders, rather than s̲l̲e̲e̲p̲.
       c. He ponders, rather than s̲l̲e̲e̲p̲i̲n̲g̲.

It can be fronted when functioning as a subordinator or a preposition, but not when functioning as a quasi-coordinator. This is why one cannot have sleeps in the example given in the original question:

[3] a. *Rather than s̲l̲e̲e̲p̲s̲, he ponders. (not acceptable)
       b. Rather than s̲l̲e̲e̲p̲, he ponders.
       c. Rather than s̲l̲e̲e̲p̲i̲n̲g̲, he ponders.

The terminology and discussion above come from ComGEL 10.40; 12.69; 13.103; 14.15, 16, 19n; 15.52. Here are some relevant examples found in that source:

As a quasi-coordinator:

He is [to be pitied] rather than [to be disliked].

As a subordinator:

He paid the fine rather than [appeal to a higher court].
(bare infinitival clause)
Rather than [Robert drive in his present state], I'd prefer to drive him home myself.
(bare infinitival clause with a subject)

As a preposition:

Their actions precipitated the war rather than [averting it].

Bare infinitival vs. finite verb

As sumelic pointed out, in your example, one should not think of sleep as a finite verb in the plural, but rather as bare infinitival, a non-finite verb. Here 'bare' refers to the fact that we don't have a to as a part of the infinitival (i.e. it's just sleep rather than to sleep). To see that sleep is here indeed a bare infinitival rather than a finite verb in the plural, consider this example:

Rather than K̲i̲m̲ ̲g̲i̲v̲e̲ ̲t̲h̲e̲ ̲i̲n̲t̲r̲o̲d̲u̲c̲t̲o̲r̲y̲ ̲l̲e̲c̲t̲u̲r̲e̲, why don't you do it yourself? (CGEL, p. 1187)

If give were a finite verb here, it would have to be in the third person singular, gives. But it is not. What we have instead is a (somewhat rare) case of a bare infinitival clause with a subject. Distressingly (to some speakers), if the subject were a pronoun, it would almost certainly be in the accusative (e.g. me) rather than in the nominative (i.e. I): Rather than m̲e̲ give the introductory lecture, why don't you do it yourself? Many speakers are uncomfortable with this specter of a subject in the accusative, which normally belongs to the informal style, and so would often opt for a subjectless construction: Rather than h̲a̲v̲e̲ Kim give the introductory lecture, why don't you do it yourself?

linguisticturn
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  • To me, 2b and 3a are in completely complementary distribution, both ungrammatical. “†He ponders rather than sleep” is utterly impossible to me (as is the variant noted in CGEL, p. 1317 n. 33: “†He rather ponders than sleep”). So I’d say it cannot be fronted as a quasi-coordinator, but must be fronted as a subordinator. This doesn’t go for non-finite clauses, though: “Rather than to be disliked, he is to be pitied” is fine. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Apr 02 '18 at 14:16
  • @janus-bahs-jacquet I'm not sure they are ungrammatical (though perhaps I'm wrong and you are right, and they are indeed ungrammatical). They are definitely less likely when unfronted, though. One indication they might be grammatical is from ComGEL 13.103. Here rather than and as well as are discussed on the same footing, and it is stated that ' they clearly have a prepositional or subordinating role, and have the mobility of adverbials, in that they can be placed in initial or final position.' – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 14:32
  • The examples given there are the following two pairs: [3] a.As well as printing the books, he publishes them. b. He publishes the books, as well as printing them. [4] a. Rather than cause trouble, I'm going to forget the whole affair. b. I'm going to forget the whole affair, rather than cause trouble. One thing I notice is the presence of commas. I'm going to add them in [2b] and [2c]. – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 14:32
  • @JanusBahsJacquet I wonder whether there isn't some elision going on in some people's minds: He would* rather ponder than sleep.* – tchrist Apr 02 '18 at 14:35
  • @tchrist Both CGEL and ComGEL say that would rather (or 'd rather) is a 'modal idiom'. For example, in ComGEL 15.52 we have: 'Clauses of preference are mainly introduced by the subordinators rather than and sooner than, with the bare infinitive as the verb of the clause: [1] Rather than go there by air, I'd take the slowest train. ['I'd prefer to take the slowest train.'] ... The combination 'd rather [= would rather or had rather] is a modal idiom. Corresponding to [1] is [1a]: [1a] I'd rather take the slowest train than go there by air. – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 14:45
  • @linguisticturn I don’t think it’s coincidental that none of those forms are of the same type as 2b in your answer. 4b comes closest but has an auxiliary which makes cause parallel to forget (rather than to am going to forget). Whether 2b is universally ungrammatical, I don’t know; but they are to me personally. I don’t recall ever hearing that construction, and my reaction to it when reading your answer was strong enough that I think I would notice it if I did hear it in natural conversation from a native speaker. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Apr 02 '18 at 14:50
  • @janus-bahs-jacquet Fair enough. Best I can do is try to find some examples 'in the wild', i.e. in google books. I will try to use only authors who seem likely to be very literate native speakers. So far I have the following, none of which involve auxiliaries: – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 15:11
  • [5] a. We are now studying the effects of asking learners to imagine a procedure or concept, rather than studying. b. When one looks at the whole rather than studying each and every instance in minute detail it is clear that... c. He relied on crude animal experimentation, rather than studying humans or nonhuman primates. d. He considers the moral implications of his hero's quest to gratify his desires, rather than studying his acts of intellectual daring. – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 15:11
  • Those all sound perfectly normal to me too. Note (if it wasn’t clear) that I was only talking specifically about the construction “[subject] [tensed verb] rather than [plain form]”. Substitute either verb with a(n appropriate) different form and it becomes perfectly grammatical and normal. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Apr 02 '18 at 15:17
  • @janus-bahs-jacquet Oooh, sorry! Somehow I missed that. – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 15:23
  • @janus-bahs-jacquet Like this? [6] a. He took his car, rather than walk. b. He crossed the street rather than walk in front of a church. c. He went hungry rather than eat it in front of them. – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 15:28
  • Yup, exactly like those. So it’s definitely not universally ungrammatical then. I would with unwavering certainty always use the participle in all three cases, and though I now have to admit I might not notice if someone said any of those to me, they still sound unnatural to my ear. “He ponders(,) rather than sleep” is definitely more jarring, though. Perhaps it’s the simple present tense that pushes it over the edge. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Apr 02 '18 at 15:36
  • @janus-bahs-jacquet I have to admit that I would never personally use any of those, either. And I agree that the present tense seems to make it worse. – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 15:40
  • @janus-bahs-jacquet Nevertheless... [7] a. The text does not explain why she does* this rather than move in with extended family as would be more likely the case in Morocco.* b. She does* that rather than get angry.* c. When his guilt prompts him to find another hiding place, she commits* suicide rather than make herself vulnerable again.* d. After her last class, she walks* home, rather than take the bus.* e. She drives* to work rather than take the train because the train ride would take much longer.* – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 16:12
  • Now we’re getting to some really interesting bits. To me, 7a sounds very natural, and 7c sounds quite natural as well. I wouldn’t call the rest ungrammatical, but they don’t sound quite natural to me either; I would naturally use a participle in all of them, though I probably wouldn’t notice any of them in natural conversation. There must be some factor(s) I can’t pinpoint that make these seem only a little ‘off’, while “He ponders rather than sleep” is so utterly ungrammatical. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Apr 02 '18 at 16:27
  • Well, one difference is that in all the examples in [7], the verbs have complements, whereas in [2] they do not. Does this sound better? As he lies in bed in the morning, he ponders his incredible luck the previous night, rather than sleep a bit longer. – linguisticturn Apr 02 '18 at 16:38