ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: rather than/instead of

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:43:26 GMT

Hi Clive, thank you very much for your great explanation!

Re: rather than/instead of

Clive — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:21:40 GMT

Hi again,

Can I use 'would rather... than' instead of 'rather than' here? For example,

"He would rather leave than cause trouble." This is correct grammar. However, it discusses a conditional/hypothetical situation.
eg If someone Tom didn't like came in, he (Tom) would rather leave than cause trouble.

Does the sentence mean the same as

"Rather than cause trouble, he left." This discusses an actual past event.

Clive

Re: rather than/instead of

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:27:26 GMT

Hi Clive,

Your explanation is great. Can I use 'would rather... than' instead of 'rather than' here? For example,

"He would rather leave than cause trouble."

Does the sentence mean the same as

"Rather than cause trouble, he left."

Thanks!

Re: rather than/instead of

Clive — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:52:37 GMT

Hi,

What is the difference between 'rather than' and 'instead of'?

Rather than cause trouble, he left.
Instead of causing trouble, he left.
A lot depends on the context of these phrases, and often there is no real difference.
Here are a couple of general comments.

'Rather than' - More subjective. Suggests he left because he didn't want to cause trouble.

'Instead of' - More objective. Focuses on the fact that there were two alternatives, ie 'cause trouble' and 'leave'. He performed the latter action.

Best wishes, Clive

rather than/instead of

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:20:42 GMT

Hi,
What is the difference between 'rather than' and 'instead of'?

Rather than cause trouble, he left.
Instead of causing trouble, he left.

Thanks.