Different usages of RATHER

Category: English || Published on : 2020-07-21 12:28:24 || Author : TILS EDUCATION 1312

There are many words in English that have many different and effective usages in English. Such words help in having precise and effective use of English. In such words, the word ‘Rather’ is there which has many different usages in one language English. In this article, we are going to learn about the different usages of Rather and will understand it with different examples.
Use of ‘RATHER’ as an adverb of Degree
In this use, Rather is used as an adverb of degree. It is used to emphasize an adjective or an adverb. It has almost similar meaning to ‘quite’ or ‘fairly’. But Rather is more formal than ‘quite’.

It is often used to express something unexpected or something surprising. This use of Rather can be used with nouns, adverbs, adjectives and superlatives.
The main thing which differs Rather with quite is that quite can be used in negative sentences too to express the meaning of little whereas Rather is used only in an affirmative sentence to express the thought of more than was expected.

The position of Rather in a sentence is in this manner: -

Subject + Rather + adverb/adjective + complement

Let’s see some examples of Rather as an adverb of degree: -
1. The professionalism in my new office is rather good.
2. His wife had been treated rather badly.
3. She left job rather suddenly without any resignation letter.
4. The problem is rather complicated than we expected.

Use of ‘OR RATHER’
In this use, Or Rather is used to correct the things that we have just said or sometimes to make our said things more precise, we often use this ‘Or Rather’.
Let’s understand this with the below examples: -
1. She ordered and I obeyed, or rather I pretended to obey.
2. His daughter is a teacher, or rather a professor.
3. They couldn’t give us notes, or rather they didn’t want to.
4. Bring five chocolates for me, or rather six.

Use of 'RATHER THAN'
In this use, Rather Than is used to express the importance of one thing between two when things are being compared. It generally occurs between those two things which have a comparison in between.
This can be used at the beginning of the sentence. It gets used with the –ing form of the verb. Let’s understand this with examples: -
1. Rather than quitting so easily, I worked hard.
2. I wanted to stay home rather than going to the party.
3. He made his choices rather than following other’s orders.

Use of ‘WOULD RATHER’
In this use, Would Rather is used to show the preference between two things. Here it seems to have a comparison but it is more about giving preference rather than comparing two things.
Would Rather is used to show the expression of ‘instead’ in the sentence. Let’s understand these with some example: -
1. I would rather live in my hometown.
2. I would rather eat something healthy.
3. I would rather get up early. I don’t like rushing at the last minute.

Here, in this article we learnt the four different types of usage of rather. Hopefully, this article will be helpful to you in order to make good and precise use of ‘Rather’.