Rather This Than That
To state a strong preference for one action over another, use the correlative structure mai degrabă... decât să... (rather... than...).
Use the indicative mood for the preferred action right after mai degrabă. For the action you want to avoid, follow decât să with a verb in the subjunctive mood.
| I'd rather clean the fragile component than change it. | Mai degrabă curăț componenta fragilă decât să o schimb. |
| I'd rather lubricate the old gear than dismantle the clock. | Mai degrabă ung angrenajul vechi decât să demontez ceasul. |
| I'd rather check everything than ignore the precision of the mechanism. | Mai degrabă verific totul decât să ignor precizia mecanismului. |
Adding a Subject
When specifying who is performing the actions, the subject typically goes at the beginning of the sentence, right before mai degrabă.
| The watchmaker would rather repair the mechanism than buy another one. | Ceasornicarul mai degrabă repară mecanismul decât să cumpere altul. |
Emphasizing the Object
You can emphasize the object by moving it to the front of the sentence. When you do this, include a matching direct object pronoun before the first verb, and again with să for the second verb.
| The fragile dial, I'd rather keep it than replace it. | Cadranul fragil mai degrabă îl păstrez decât să-l înlocuiesc. |
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