Instead of be or instead of being?

Question

I know after 'instead of' verb-ing is used. But I have found a sentence :

"My father wants me to be bold instead of be cautious".

Is it correct?

Can we use 'instead of being cautious' in the above sentence? Please clarify it.

Answer 1

The sentence is wrong, although not because of the word "be". Ideally, the sentence should use "rather than" and not "instead of". "Rather than" is coordinating; "instead of" is subordinating.

My father wants me to be bold rather than be cautious.

You could also drop the repetition of the verb and just say:

My father wants me to be bold rather than cautious.