than you having to run after it

[Maybo]

Venus will bring you financial windfalls. She will see to it that financial opportunity seeks you out rather than you having to run after it. (Your Personal Horoscope 2017 by Joseph Polansky)

Can I say "... than you have to run after it."?

 

[Maybo]

You [FONT=&quot]need 'havi[/FONT][FONT=&quot]ng'.[/FONT]

Why?

 

[Rover_KE]

It's ungrammatical with 'have'.

 

[teechar]

"Rather than" is usually followed by a subordinate clause, not a clause that can work on its own (independent clause).

 

[Maybo]

"Rather than" is usually followed by a subordinate clause, not a clause that can work on its own (independent clause).

Is it "rather than you (who are) having..."?

 

[teechar]

No.

 

[Maybo]

No.

What is this kind of sentence structure? Why "you" can be followed by "verb-ing"? How should I parse the sentence structure?

 

[Tarheel]

What is this kind of sentence structure? Why can "you" be followed by "verb-ing"? How should I parse the sentence structure?

Somebody will know.

 

[Phaedrus]

How should I parse the sentence structure?

You can parse "rather than" as a compound preposition similar to "instead of."

The phrase "you having to run after it" functions as the object of "rather than," rather as it would if the phrase were "your having to run after it."

I myself find "rather than" awkward in the sentence in question and should replace it with the preposition "without":

She will see to it that financial opportunity seeks you out without you(r) having to run after it.

The "that"-clause after "see to it" means that financial opportunity will seek you out; you won't have to run after financial opportunity.

 

[Maybo]

The phrase "you having to run after it" functions as the object of "rather than," rather as it would if the phrase were "your having to run after it."

I see. It is the object. I had been thinking "you" was a subject pronoun. That's why it didn't work.:turn-l:

 

[Tarheel]

Maybo, you can be either subject or object. Have I never told you that before?

 

[Maybo]

Maybo, you can be either subject or object. Have I never told you that before?

I didn't think about that at that moment :turn-l:.