prefer to...rather than... 的用法：

该结构与would rather … than表述的意思相同，但语法的结构不同，如：

They would rather rent the house than buy it outright.

（也可以用 They would rent the house rather than buy it outright）

他们宁可租这幢房子，也不愿直接买下它。

主语：They

谓语动词：would rather rent ——情态动词 + 动词原形

宾语：the house

比较状语：than buy it outright.

They prefer to rent the house rather than buy it outright.

（也可以用 They prefer to rent the house instead of buying it outright）

他们宁可租这幢房子，也不愿直接买下它。

主语：They

谓语动词：prefer

宾语：to rent the house

并列宾语：rather than buy it outright ——并列连词 + 省略 to 的不定式

因此这两种结构可以相互改写，如：

He would rather sacrifice his life than see damage done to state property.

——He prefers to sacrifice his life rather than see damage done to state property.

——He prefers to sacrifice his life instead of seeing damage done to state property.

——He would sacrifice his life rather than see damage done to state property.

他宁可牺牲自己的生命, 也不肯看到国家财产受到损失。

He preferred to die rather than steal.

——He preferred to die instead of stealing.

——He would rather die than steal.

——He would die rather than steal.

他宁愿死也不愿意偷窃。