Rather than Expressing preference or avoidance

Rather than — preference vs. avoidance

#1 RATHER THAN — X NOT Y  "In preference to"			#2 RATHER THAN —  choosing X to avoid Y
We use rather than to show comparative preference for the first of two paired elements: adjectives, adverbs, infinitives & gerunds clauses, prepositional phrases and verbs. Rather than coordinates syntactically alike items. The meaning is X (and) not Y (conjunction)  "in stead of". . The passive voice can be formed in these sentences.(CaGEL not in coordination 811, rather, 1128)			Rather than also functions as an adverb with a comparative meaning "taking the contrary choice as the preferred one", perhaps,  as a judgment of what is right or logical.  This particular use of rather than is commonly followed by a bare infinitive (base verb form) .   The verb of the main clause is in present, past , or a modal verb from.  The passive voice cannot be formed in these sentences.
CLAUSE Ed wanted less	COORDINATOR rather than in stead of (and) not	COORDINATED CLAUSE more homework.  (parallel adjectives)	CLAUSE – OPTION 1 Ed went to jail	ADVERB + PREP rather than sooner than	CLAUSE pay his parking fines.
Ed worked carelessly	rather than	carefully on his projects.  (parallel adverbs)	Ed will go to court	rather than	pay his parking fines.
Ed wanted success	rather than	failure. (parallel nouns)	Ed would eat nails	rather than	pay his parking tickets.
Ed kept	rather than	told his secrets. (verbs)	Ed preferred to go to jail	rather than	pay an unfair parking fine.
Ed walked	rather than	ran. (verbs)	Ed contests a ticket in court	rather than	just *pay / paying it. (ex. 3rd per.)
Ed enjoys walking for relaxation	rather than	running. (gerund – nonfinite clause)	Ed has been making excuses	rather than	*do / doing his homework (ex. progressive)
Ed prefers to walk	rather than	run. (infinitive – nonfinite clause)	Ed is making excuses	rather than	*do / doing his homework (ex. progressive)
Less	rather than	more homework was wanted by Ed. (passive is possible)	Excuses were made up	rather than	*home work done  (no passive possible)

*Note that 3rd-person, present tense sounds awkward with the bare infinitive verb form, so speakers often switch to a gerund.
contest (v.) – oppose something (an action, decision, or theory) as mistaken or wrong
(2) Merriam Webster Dictionary expresses the meaning as " indicate negation as a contrary choice or wish".  
(2) Huddleston expresses the meaning as "taking the contrary choice as the preferred one" (GGEL rather, 1128; expressions based on comparison, 1317)

Rather than Verb Complements

#1 RATHER THAN — X NOT Y				#2 RATHER THAN — CHOOSING  X TO AVOID Y
Rather than (X not Y) occurs in a clause after various tenses. The verb after rather than has a parallel verb form				Rather than (X to avoid Y) than is a preposition with a clause as its complement.  The clause usually has a base verb form (bare infinitive), but may also have a gerund as will be discussed in the next section.
SUBJECT Ed	VERB walks (present)	COORDINATOR rather than (and) not (conj) instead of (prep)	PARALLEL VERB FORM drives to work. (present)	SUBJECT Ed	VERB prefers to bike	ADVERB + PREP rather than sooner than	CLAUSE: BARE-FORM VERB waste time waiting for buses. (driving is a faster way to get there)
Ed	walked (past)	rather than	drove to work.  (past)	Ed	bikes to work	rather than	%waste / wasting time waiting for buses. (driving is a faster way to get there)
Ed	will walk prefers to walk	rather than	drive to work. (bare form)	Ed	will take a pay cut	rather than	lay off any coworkers. (saving money allows keeping employees)
Ed	is walking has been walking enjoys walking	rather than	driving to work. (gerund)	He	will ride his bike	rather than	get caught in traffic. (driving involves traffic, the train does not)
Eddie Jr. Ed	was walked has walked	rather than	driven to school. (passive + participle)  driven to work. (passive + participle)	Ed	went to jail	rather than	pay his parking fines. (jail time takes the place of paying fines)
				Ed	sped down the freeway	rather than	miss his meeting (drove fast to be on time)