「rather than」正確用法是?跟 instead of 差在哪?

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Hey guys! 我是英文庫的 Cecilia,在生活中,我們每一天都會面臨不同的選擇,像是晚餐要吃燉飯還是義大利麵,明天要看歌劇還是電影,後天要和斯文型男還是帥哥猛男約會(唉呀,不小心說出了很多女性的心聲)等等,這些情況在英文裡都能夠以 rather than 一一說個明白。

rather than 確切該如何使用,以及它所有的用法有哪些,今天就讓我們好好破解一番吧!😉

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rather than 的用法

rather than 經常用在兩個選項進行比較的時候,表示「是…而不是…」,用來突顯兩者中其中一個的重要性,注意此時作為對等連接詞在結構上前後所接的詞性需要對等,看看以下的例句你就會更清楚嘍!

For exercise, I walk rather than run.
以運動來說,我是走路而不是跑步。

I decided to drink beer rather than wine.
我決定要喝啤酒而不是葡萄酒。

I would describe Columbus as handsome rather than cute.
我會形容哥倫布是帥氣而不是可愛。(兩個都有不行嗎?小孩子才做選擇 🤣)

He talks slowly rather than quickly.
他講話是慢地,而不是快地。

It would be better to go in October rather than in July.
十月去而不是七月去會比較好。

rather than 也可以置於句首,且當後面接動詞的時候,接原形動詞會比接動名詞來得常見。

Rather than ride a bicycle, she walked to work.
= Rather than riding a bicycle, she walked to work.
他走路而非騎腳踏車去工作。

Rather than take the blame, he blamed everyone else.
他沒有接受責備,反而怪罪其他人。

Rather than stay at home, my sister went out for a walk.
我姐姐沒有待在家,而是出門散步去了。

rather than 後面要放什麼動詞?原形動詞?V-ing?

看完一整篇文章,你可能還是會對於 rather than 後面到底要放什麼樣形式的動詞有點疑惑,怎麼有時候用原形動詞?有時候又用動名詞 (V-ing)?🤔 其實很多學習者都有這樣子的疑惑。事實上,這個問題在母語者的文法論壇上也有不同看法,但以下是英文庫團隊的觀點:

(1) 不管 rather than 放句首或句中,原形動詞或動名詞都可以放:

She takes a bus rather than drive a car to work.
She takes a bus rather than driving a car to work.(rather than 作為介系詞用)

(2) 但如果可以的話,盡量選讓句子有平行結構的選項:

She takes a bus rather than drive a car to work. 👑
She takes a bus rather than driving a car to work.

不過事實上呢,這兩句的寫法滿少見的,可以說會盡量去避免,所以在遇到這種情況時,會建議你可以運用其他方式來表達,就比較不會有爭議囉,例如:

She takes a bus instead of driving a car to work.

別緊張,下面會有關於 rather than 跟 instead of 的比較唷!

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would rather… than… 的用法

rather than 除了單槍匹馬出現,也很常會以 would rather… than… 的形式出來見人,表示「寧願…而不願…」的意思,後面必須接原形動詞,而且前後必須對等

She would rather dance than sing in public.
她寧願在公眾場合下跳舞也不要唱歌。

He would rather kiss Jane than hug Sandy.
他寧願親珍一下,也不要和仙蒂抱抱。

這個句型也可以等同 prefer… rather than…would… rather than… 這兩個句型,意思都是相同的。

I would rather take a rest than work tonight.
= I would take a rest rather than work tonight.
= I prefer to take a rest rather than work tonight.
今晚我寧願休息也不要工作。

rather than 和 instead of 一樣嗎?

嚴格來說,rather than 和 instead of 兩者比較不一樣的地方是 rather than 相較來說比較正式一點,而且 rather than 強調「偏好」,但 instead of 強調「取代」的概念。

不過,就用法上來講,一旦當 rather than 作為介系詞的時候,意思是「而不是…」,此時沒有結構需要對稱的問題,作用可等同於 instead of,後面可以接名詞和動名詞。

They waited for the group to decide rather than making individual decisions.
= They waited for the group to decide instead of making individual decisions.
他們等待團隊做好決定,而不是按照個人意願做出抉擇。

I sometimes eat chocolate cake rather than lemon cake.
= I sometimes eat chocolate cake instead of lemon cake.
我有時候吃巧克力蛋糕而不是檸檬蛋糕。

在位置上來說,它們都能夠置於句中句首

I prefer getting up early rather than rushing at the last minute.
= I prefer getting up early instead of rushing at the last minute.
我偏好早起而不是在最後一刻倉促匆忙。

Rather than taking a bus, he drove to work.
= Instead of taking a bus, he drove to work.
他開車而不是坐公車去上班。

That’s All for Today

一口氣把所有 rather than 的用法都詳細解說了一次,希望你不只看得過癮,學得也很過癮,不過有些部分的確有點複雜,尤其是這篇文章提到的第二種和第三種用法,建議在判斷的時候,先確認前後連接的兩個字在詞性和結構上有沒有對等,就能先過濾並找出主要差異。

下次遇到英文疑問時,也不要忘了回來英文庫坐坐喔!😉

想看更多 rather than 的相關主題,可以參考以下文章:
👉 instead、instead of 的正確用法是?來搞懂!
👉 rather, prefer, instead of 用法差在哪?(含例句)

Cecilia

Hey there! 我是 Cecilia,綽號烏龜妹,曾任英文老師與顧問,經營個人品牌《烏龜妹,出走旅行 TurtleGirl's Travel》。內心住著無法停下腳步流浪的靈魂,擁有小王子愛上玫瑰的任性,戒不掉整天在文字和藝術間徘徊的壞習慣。讓我們一起學英文,打開世界這本沒有疆域的書。💗