Prefer [One Thing] to [Another Thing]

How to use "prefer" with "to" to make comparisons

This is an entry on my list of Common Errors in English Usage. Visit the main page for direct links to additional entries.

The idiomatically correct preposition to use with the verb prefer (or the adjective preferable) when making comparisons is to:

prefer [one thing] more than [another]
prefer [one thing] over [another]

prefer [one thing] to [another]

Because the word prefer already implies a comparison, more than is redundant:

prefer Chinese food over Japanese food
prefer Chinese food more than Japanese food

prefer Chinese food to Japanese food

education is preferable over ignorance

education is preferable to ignorance

Related Resources

Common Errors in English Usage: Errors in diction and idiom commonly made by native speakers of English

List of Common Errors in English Usage (PDF): Printable version of the complete list

Common Grammar Errors: A list of common errors in grammar (topics like subject-verb agreement and parallelism) as distinct from usage

List of Common Errors in English Usage: PDF version

© 2006, 2008, and 2019 C. Brantley Collins, Jr.