RATHER बल्कि // RATHER THAN बजाय (google translator)
We use rather as a degree adverb (rather cold, rather nice). We also use it to express alternatives and preferences (green rather than blue, coffee rather than tea, slowly rather than quickly).
Rather as a degree adverb
We use rather to give emphasis to an adjective or adverb. It has a similar meaning to quite when quite is used with gradable words. It is more formal than quite. We often use it to express something unexpected or surprising:A:
You’re not just wasting your time here, are you?
B: No, I’m rather busy, in fact.
- They walked rather slowly.
- I’m afraid I behaved rather badly.
Rather with adjective + noun
With a/an we usually use rather a/an + adjective + noun, but we can also use a rather + adjective + noun. With other determiners (some, those) we use determiner + rather + adjective + noun:
- We had to wait rather a long time. (or, less common, We had to wait a rather long time.)
- He helped her out of rather an uncomfortable situation. (or He helped her out of a rather uncomfortable situation.)
- I had some rather bad news today.
Not: I had rather some bad news today.(wrong)
Rather a + noun
Rather a with a noun is more common in formal language than in informal language, particularly in writing:
It was rather a surprise to find them in the house before me.
Rather a lot
We often use rather with a lot to refer to large amounts and quantities:
- It cost me rather a lot of money.
- You’ve given me rather a lot.
- We also use rather a lot to mean ‘often’:
- They went there rather a lot.
- You’ll be seeing rather a lot of me over the next few weeks.
Rather + verb
We can use rather to emphasise verbs. We use it most commonly with verbs such as enjoy, hope, like:
- I was rather hoping you’d forgotten about that.
- He rather liked the idea of a well-paid job in Japan.
Rather: comparison
We use rather with more and less + an adjective or adverb in formal writing to make a comparison with something:
- Quite probably you simply didn’t realise that peas and beans and sweet-corn are such valuable vegetables, and you will now continue to eat them rather more frequently because you like them anyway.
- Now that she saw Rupert again, he was rather less interesting and a little older than she had remembered him.
Rather like
We use rather with like to refer to similarities. We use rather like to mean ‘quite similar to’:
- They were small animals, rather like rats.
- I was in the middle. I felt rather like a referee at a football match trying to be fair and keep the sides apart.
Rather than: alternatives and preferences
We use rather than to give more importance to one thing when two alternatives or preferences are being compared:
- He wanted to be an actor rather than a comedian.
- Can we come over on Saturday rather than Friday?
Rather than usually occurs between two things which are being compared. However, we can also use it at the beginning of a sentence. When we use rather than with a verb, we use the base form or (less commonly) the -ing form of a verb:
Rather than pay the taxi fare, he walked home. (or Rather than paying the taxi fare, he walked home.)
Not: Rather than to pay …(wrong)
Or rather
We use or rather to correct ourselves:
- He commanded and I obeyed, or rather, I pretended to.
- Thanks to his efforts, or rather the efforts of his employees, they made a decent profit.
Would prefer X to Y / Would prefer X rather than Y
| SUBJ + PRED | OPTION 1 | PREP | OPTION 2 |
| I would prefer | walking (gerund) | to | driving (gerund) |
| I would prefer | tea (noun) | to | coffee (noun) |
| I would prefer | brown (adjective) | to | black boots. (adjective) |
| I would prefer | going now (gerund clause) | to | going later (gerund clause) |
| I would prefer | outside (prep. phrase) | to | inside (prep. phrase) |
| SUBJ + PRED | OPTION 1 | PREP | OPTION 2 |
| I would prefer | to walk | *to (rather than) | to drive. |
| I would prefer | that we have tea | *to (rather than) | (that we) have coffee. |
| I would prefer it | to be brown | *to (rather than) | to be black. |
Rather X or Y? / Rather X than Y
| AUX + SUBJ | OPTION 1 | OPTION 2 |
| Would you | rather drive | or walk? (parallel verb phrases) |
| Would you | rather leave at 8:00 | or wait until 9:00? |
| Would you | rather that I call you | or that you call me? |
| SUBJ + AUX | OPTION 1 | OPTION 2 |
| I would | rather drive | than walk. |
| I would | rather leave at 8:00 | than 8:00. |
| I would | rather that I call you | than (that) you call me. |
Rather than — preference / Rather than — avoidance
| OPTION 1 | COORDINATOR | OPTION 2 |
| Ed wanted less (Adj) | rather than | more homework. |
| Ed worked carelessly (Adv) | rather than | carefully on his projects. |
| Ed wanted success (N) | rather than | failure. |
| Ed kept (VP) | rather than | told his secrets. |
| Ed walked (V) | rather than | ran. |
| Ed enjoys walking for relaxation (Ger) | rather than | running. |
| Ed prefers to walk (Infin) | rather than | run. |
| OPTION 1 | SUBORD/ PREP | OPTION 2 |
| Ed went to jail | rather than | pay his parking fines. |
| Ed will go to court | rather than | pay his parking fines. |
| Ed would eat nails | rather than | pay his parking tickets. |
| Ed preferred to go to jail | rather than | pay an unfair parking fine. |
| Ed contests a ticket in court | rather than | just ¹ paying / ²pay it. (ex. 3rd per.) |
| Ed has been makingexcuses | rather than | ¹ doing / ²do his homework. |
| Ed is making excuses | rather than | ¹ doing / ²do his homework. |
Rather than – Preference / Rather than – Avoidance
| SUBJECT | PREDICATE | COORDINATE | PREDICATE |
| N | VP | COORDINATOR | VP |
| Ed | walks (present) | rather than | drives to work. (present) |
| Ed | walked (past) | rather than | drove to work. (past) |
| Ed | will walk (modal)prefers to walk (VP) | rather than | drive to work. (plain form) |
| Ed | is walkinghas been walkingenjoys walking | rather than | driving to work. (gerund) |
| Ed | was walked (by his mom)has walked | rather than | driven to school. (past partcpl) |
| Ed | walks all the way to work | rather than | takes the train part of the way. |
| SUBJECT | PREDICATE | SUBORDINATE | CLAUSE |
| N | V P | SUBORD/PREP | BARE / GER |
| Ed | prefers to walk | rather than | ¹getting / ²get stuck in traffic. |
| Ed | walked to work | rather than | ¹getting / ²get stuck in traffic. |
| Ed | will walkprefers to walk | rather than | get stuck in traffic. |
| He | will ride his bike | rather than | get caught in traffic. (driving involves traffic, the train does not) |
| Ed | went to jail | rather than | pay his parking fines. (Jail time is preferable to paying a fine.) |
| Ed | sped down the freeway | rather than | miss his meeting (drove fast to be on time) |
Rather than – Preference / Rather than – Avoidance
| SUBJECT | PREDICATE | COORDINATE | PREDICATE |
| N | VP | COORDINATOR | VP |
| Ed | walks (present) | rather than | drives to work. (present) |
| Ed | walked (past) | rather than | drove to work. (past) |
| Ed | will walk (modal)prefers to walk (VP) | rather than | drive to work. (plain form) |
| Ed | is walkinghas been walkingenjoys walking | rather than | driving to work. (gerund) |
| Ed | was walked (by his mom)has walked | rather than | driven to school. (past partcpl) |
| Ed | walks all the way to work | rather than | takes the train part of the way. |
| SUBJECT | PREDICATE | SUBORDINATE | CLAUSE |
| N | V P | SUBORD/PREP | BARE / GER |
| Ed | prefers to walk | rather than | ¹getting / ²get stuck in traffic. |
| Ed | walked to work | rather than | ¹getting / ²get stuck in traffic. |
| Ed | will walkprefers to walk | rather than | get stuck in traffic. |
| He | will ride his bike | rather than | get caught in traffic. (driving involves traffic, the train does not) |
| Ed | went to jail | rather than | pay his parking fines. (Jail time is preferable to paying a fine.) |
| Ed | sped down the freeway | rather than | miss his meeting (drove fast to be on time) |
Rather than verb… / Rather than verb-ing…
| ADJUNCT CLAUSE WITH BARE INFINITIVE | |
|---|---|
| When a rather than clause begins a sentence, the verb form can be the bare infinitival or the gerund verb form. ¹The bare infinitive is the preferred form. | The choice depends on 1) whether the sentence is worded in a parallel manner, and 2) whether parallel wording of the verb phrase in the sentence will allow it. |
| BARE INFIN / GER | PARALLEL VERB PHRASE |
| Rather than ¹take / ²taking the bus, | we drive our car to work. |
| Rather than ¹take / ²taking the bus, | Ed will/ could/ should/ walk to work. (modal) |
| Rather than ¹take / ²taking the bus, | Ed walks to work. (present habit) |
| Rather than ¹take / ²taking the bus, | Ed prefers to walk to work. (present + infinitive clause) |
| Rather than taking¹ / take² the bus, | Ed enjoys walking to work. (present + gerund clause) |
| Rather than taking¹ / take² the bus, | Ed walked. (² past tense) |
| ADJUNCT CLAUSE WITH GERUND | |
|---|---|
| We tend to use a gerund form in the initial clause when the coordinated elements are not parallel or not “balanced” (similar in length.) | The gerund form is used when (1) the second coordinated element is not syntactically alike (unparallel) or lengthy; (2) the verb is a past or progressive form, |
| Rather than taking¹ / take² the bus, | we much prefer to drive whenever we can. (lengthy, unparallel) |
| Rather than taking¹ / take² the bus, | Ed will be walking to work. (progressive) |
| Rather than taking¹ / take² the bus, | Ed is walking to work. (progressive) |
| Rather than taking¹ / take² the bus, | Ed was walking to work. (progressive) |
Rather than verb… / Rather than verbing…
| JUDGMENT OF TRUTH | |
|---|---|
| A bare infinitive form is used when expressing the judgment of truth, right, or what is logical. The person takes the contrary choice as the preferred one to avoid injustice. The main clause verb is usually present, past or will or would. | |
| They will /would go / would have gone on strike rather than | accept what management offers them.(Accepting the offer would be humiliating.) |
| He went to jail rather than | pay his parking tickets. (Paying his parking tickets would be an admission of guilt.) |
| He made excuses rather than | do his homework. (Doing his homework would require too much effort.) |
| We reason with him rather than | quarrel with him. (Getting angry would be less effective.) |
| DESCRIPTION / OBSERVATION | |
|---|---|
| A gerund form is used with a more descriptive effect, in which the focus is more on the activity (aspect) and not opinion (modality). The verb in the main clause is usually progressive or present perfect. | |
| PROGRESSIVE / PERFECT | GERUND |
| They are going on strike rather than | accepting what management offered them. |
| He was going to jail rather than | paying his parking fines. |
| He has been making excuses rather than | doing his homework. |
| We have reasoned with him rather than | quarreling with him. |
Rather than and Instead of
| COMPLEMENT TYPE | INSTEAD OF / RATHER THAN |
|---|---|
| NP (noun phrase) | He took the laptop instead of the iPad.He took the laptop rather than the iPad. |
| noun | I’ll go instead of you.I’ll go rather than you. |
| PP | We’ll go now instead of in the morning. We’ll go now rather than in the morning. |
| AdjP | I felt humiliated instead of proud of my self.I felt humiliated rather than proud of my self. |
| AdvjP | He spoke timidly instead of competently.He spoke timidly rather than competently. |
| bare infinitival | We want them to be bold instead of be cautious.*We want them to be bold rather than be cautious. |
| infinitival | *It’s better to continue instead of (to) wait.It’s better to continue rather than (to) wait. |
| gerund-participle | We prefer moving on instead of waiting.We prefer moving on rather than waiting. |
| declarative clause | He said that “it” was regretful instead of that he was sorry.He said that “it” was regretful rather than that he was sorry. |
| closed interrogative | They told me I had tried hard instead of whether I had succeeded.They told me I had tried hard rather than whether I had succeeded. |
| open interrogative | They told me where I had to go instead of when I had to go.They told me where I had to go rather thanwhen I had to go. |
| subjunctive clause | He asked that they be heard instead of that they be sent away. He asked that they be heard rather than that they be sent away. |
parallel (Adj) – having the same word form; being syntactically alike, from the same category
NP –noun phrase; N – noun; VP – verb phrase; V – verb; Det – determiner; PP – prepositional phrase; P – preposition; AdvP – adverb phrase; Adv – adverb; AdjP– adjective phrase; Adj – adjective
Rather, Would Rather, Rather Than Exercise
This grammar exercise tests your ability to use rather, would rather and rather than.
1. He is ………………………………..
- rather fool
- a rather fool
- rather a fool
2. That was ……………………………
- rather a good idea
- a rather good idea
- Either could be used here
3. We …………………… hoping he would leave soon.
- rather were
- were rather
- Either could be used here
4. I would prefer to come on Tuesday ……………….. on Thursday.
- rather
- would rather
- rather than
5. I decided to phone rather than ………………
- write
- writing
- Either could be used here
6. Would you rather ………………… here or go home.
- stay to
- stays
- staying
7. I would rather ………………….. something to eat.
- have to
- have
- having
8. I would rather you …………………. me alone.
- leave
- left
- leaving
- had left
9. ‘Should I turn the heating on?’ ‘I would rather you …………………
- not
- didn’t
- hadn’t
10. It is important to find new markets rather than ……………….. new people.
- hire
- hiring
- Either could be used here
11. Rather than …………………… the last of my cash for a meal, I chose to stay hungry.
- Please select 2 correct answers
- spending
- spend
- to spend
12. I would rather you ……………………… that. You upset her.
- didn’t say
- hadn’t said
- Either could be used here
Answers
1. He is rather a fool.
2. That was a rather good idea / rather a good idea.
3. We were rather hoping he would leave soon.
4. I would prefer to come on Tuesday rather than on Thursday.
5. I decided to phone rather than write / writing.
6. Would you rather stay here or go home?
7. I would rather have something to eat.
8. I would rather you left me alone.
9. ‘Should I turn the heating on?’ ‘I would rather you didn’t.
10. It is important to find new markets rather than hire / hiring new people.
11. Rather than spending / spend the last of my cash for a meal, I chose to stay hungry.
12. I would rather you hadn’t said that. You upset her.
END