ぐらいなら・くらいなら - Grammar Discussion

Grammar Points
#1

would rather…than
rather than
better off

Structure

  • Verb[る] + ぐらいなら / くらいなら + Phrase

[AくらいならB is a phrase meaning “(I) would rather B than A.” It is used when the speaker considers A to be the worst case possible and prefers B, which, while still not quite satisfactory, is much better than A]

[Expressions like ほうがいい、ほうがましだ、ほうがよかった and なさい are prevalent in B. いっそ and むしろ can be added for emphasis]

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#2

I recently ran into this construction in the wild with a weird switching.
The construction says “[Phrase A]Verb[る] + くらいなら + [Phrase B]”, but is it possible to have Phrase B first with the more preferred option ending in Verb[た]あと?

The construction I saw was [Phrase B]Verb[た]+あと…+[Phrase A]Verb[る]+くらいなら。