English UsageGrammar guide
Preferable To: Standard Pattern
Preferable To: Standard Pattern records the directly documented construction and does not overstate an unsupported preferable-over contrast.
Cambridge documents “preferable to” before a noun phrase and “preferable to doing something” when one option is better or more suitable than another.
Key details
Confusion Familyusage-construction
Rule Familycomparison complement
Termspreferable to, preferable to doing something
Further guidance
Construction
Cambridge directly records preferable to something and preferable to doing something.
Style Boundary
Preferable can also appear without an expressed comparison; this page is limited to the complement pattern.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- preferable — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Cambridge dictionary evidence for preferable to something or doing something.