Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Toju]

Someone has asked me to ask this grammar question. Any help appreciated.

'Rather than bring his frenzied Nirvana style to each project, Grohl strives to belnd in.'

'Rather than bringing his frenzied Nirvana style to each project, Grohl strives to blend in.'

Is it ok to use both bring and bringing in this context and, if so, why?

[bacasper]

[Toju]

Thank you - I am self confessed grammar retard - still kind of shocked that I was allowed here to teach....!

[hugekebab]

[The Cosmic Hum]

Bacasper explains it very well.
I would add that both examples are acceptable.
'Rather than bring his frenzied Nirvana style to each project, Grohl strives to blend in.'
'Rather than bringing his frenzied Nirvana style to each project, Grohl strives to blend in.'

The first is textbook grammar parallelism.
The second example puts more emphasis on the continuous form.
There is a tendency in prescriptivist grammar to follow the rule of parallelism � in this case - matching verb tenses; however, it is not a hard and fast rule and can often lead to a sentence feeling unnaturally contrived. There is plenty of room for variation in this example for an experienced writer, but undoubtedly, if you don�t know what you are doing with this form, it would be well advised to follow parallel sentence structure.
If this was a question on a test�as in which was the better answer�.then certainly the first is the better choice and you could explain the parameters of parallelism.
If this was a question of style�then be prepared to explain the difference between the present continuous and the present simple and the not so subtle shift of focus.

[bacasper]

[branchsnapper]

I don't think primly quoting a rule that does not need to be followed, and in fact will sometimes make the sentence sound worse, is really explaining something well. Bogus rules are not all that helpful, though I suppose as cosmic suggests this one is a useful rule of thumb.

A natural example from a google search (there are countless to be found - this one relates to trained squirrels): When it wants to alert its owner to a call, it waves and moves about rather than making a sound.

[Thiuda]

[branchsnapper]

Absolutely wrong - I love how these wrong things come with helpful links. The usage for this is very subtle.

[Thiuda]

[jadarite]

I like reading books. (one action done many times)
I read a book. (one action done one time)

[branchsnapper]

The general sequence rules do not apply here - this usage depends on the phrase "rather than". Surely by following your own instinct you can tell that the two sentences of the OP mean quite the same thing, and to my mind it would be a little harsh to call either "wrong".

[Thiuda]

[branchsnapper]

Yes, the form of the verb depends on the subordinating construction - so that if you used the similar construction "in place of" you would definitely need to use an "ing" form. "Rather than" is a subordinating construction which usually allows both forms of the verb, so I agree, both could be regarded as correct. However, and importantly, there is no real change in the meaning - certainly not the concrete change you mentioned.

[Thiuda]