Complete the sentence: We would ___ Paris than London.

• A. Rather visit
• B. Visiting
• C. Visited
• D. Visit

Answer: (A)

This question tests how to use would rather to express a preference, with the verb in its base form after would rather. When you say you would rather do something, the verb that follows is the bare infinitive (the simple, unconjugated form). Here, the action is visiting Paris, and it’s being compared to London. So the verb after would rather should be visit, not an -ing form or any other tense form. That’s why the sentence reads: We would rather visit Paris than London.

Visiting would require a different construction (for example, would rather be visiting) and wouldn’t fit the simple comparison as written. Visited is a past participle and would also not fit here, and visit without would rather wouldn’t express the preference in the same way.