He would rather appeal the decision … defeat.

Analyze the question: The sentence uses the structure "would rather," and we need the phrase that completes it correctly: "He would rather appeal the decision ___ defeat."

Concept: "Would rather" is followed by the bare infinitive (the base form of the verb, with no "to"). When two choices are compared, the second verb must match the first in form:

• would rather + verb (base form) + than + verb (base form)

Examples:

• She would rather walk than ride.
• I would rather stay than go.

Step-by-step solution:

1. The first verb is "appeal," which is in the base form (it follows "would rather").
2. The comparison word must be than, not "instead of." This eliminates A, since "would rather... instead of" is not the correct pairing.
3. After "than," the verb must also be in the base form to match "appeal." So we need "accept," not "accepting" or "accepts." • B "than accepting" is wrong because it uses the -ing form. • C "than accepts" is wrong because it uses the third-person singular form. • D "than accept" is correct because it uses the base form, giving parallel structure.

Complete sentence: "He would rather appeal the decision than accept defeat."

Tip: When you see "would rather", think "parallel base verbs": would rather + verb + than + verb. Check that the two verbs after "rather" and "than" match in form.