instead of vs rather than

[Willy]

divineacclivity, I think you are right when you inferred that Rather Than can you used to show preference of one thing over another and Instead Of can be used for replacement.

[divineacclivity]

:)

[jnelson0612]

:-)

[sw001]

You are not alone! I just learned one useful distinction between the two this week!

The "of" in "instead of" is a preposition, and the object of a preposition must be a noun.

So you CAN say:
I want chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla today.
Miguel decided to play guitar instead of drums.
Abhi wants to know when to use the words "rather than" instead of the words "instead of."

But you SHOULDN'T say:
I walked to work instead of drove.
Miguel played guitar instead of drummed.
Abhi embraced the difficulties of grammar instead of gave up.

(See? These are all parallel--two verbs in the same tense. But, it probably even sounds weird to many people that I put a verb after "instead of." My ear is telling me to switch the last words above to driving, drumming or drums, and giving up, but that would ruin the parallelism, so there's obviously some possible difficulty with using "instead of.")

In contrast, "rather than" can compare nouns or verbs, so it's just more likely to be correct.

It's probably most noteworthy that the OG doesn't even mention the rather than/instead of choice in the explanation for questions that have it, except to say that both require parallelism.

So, this would be correct usage -
I am walking to work instead of driving. (comparing walking and driving which are gerunds, am is the verb).
Miguel is playing guitar instead of drumming. (playing guitar and drumming is compared - gerunds, "is" verb)
Students are embracing the difficulties of grammar instead of giving up. (embracing and giving up is compared - gerunds, "are" verb)

[sw001]

You are not alone! I just learned one useful distinction between the two this week!

The "of" in "instead of" is a preposition, and the object of a preposition must be a noun.

So you CAN say:
I want chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla today.
Miguel decided to play guitar instead of drums.
Abhi wants to know when to use the words "rather than" instead of the words "instead of."

But you SHOULDN'T say:
I walked to work instead of drove.
Miguel played guitar instead of drummed.
Abhi embraced the difficulties of grammar instead of gave up.

(See? These are all parallel--two verbs in the same tense. But, it probably even sounds weird to many people that I put a verb after "instead of." My ear is telling me to switch the last words above to driving, drumming or drums, and giving up, but that would ruin the parallelism, so there's obviously some possible difficulty with using "instead of.")

In contrast, "rather than" can compare nouns or verbs, so it's just more likely to be correct.

It's probably most noteworthy that the OG doesn't even mention the rather than/instead of choice in the explanation for questions that have it, except to say that both require parallelism.

So, this would be correct usage -
I am walking to work instead of driving. (comparing walking and driving which are gerunds, am is the verb).
Miguel is playing guitar instead of drumming. (playing guitar and drumming is compared - gerunds, "is" verb)
Students are embracing the difficulties of grammar instead of giving up. (embracing and giving up is compared - gerunds, "are" verb)

[RonPurewal]

Sort of.

There's also a slight meaning difference. The GMAT will not test this difference"”it only tests meaning differences that are very pronounced"”but it's a difference that affects your examples.

* "X instead of Y" indicates that Y is the normal, expected, or preferred option"”in other words, that X is a substitute for Y.

* "X rather than Y" implies no such preference.

I am walking to work instead of driving.
Miguel is playing guitar instead of drumming.

These are workable sentences, but they have certain implications.

The first implies that you normally drive to work, but that today you're walking (because your car is in the shop, or because it's a "spare the air" day, or whatever).

The second implies that Miguel normally plays the drums, or would be expected to play the drums on this particular song.

Students are embracing the difficulties of grammar instead of giving up.

This sentence is grammatically sound, but its meaning is troubling: it implies that the students would normally be expected to give up!

[sw001]

Ok got it. Thanks Ron for your explanation.

So, I think in such cases use of rather than (subtle) would be better - ??

Students are embracing the difficulties of grammar rather than giving up.

[RonPurewal]

So, I think in such cases use of rather than (subtle) would be better

As I mentioned above in boldface, the GMAT will not test this difference.

[PrakharS433]

Sort of.

There's also a slight meaning difference. The GMAT will not test this difference"”it only tests meaning differences that are very pronounced"”but it's a difference that affects your examples.

* "X instead of Y" indicates that Y is the normal, expected, or preferred option"”in other words, that X is a substitute for Y.

* "X rather than Y" implies no such preference.

I am walking to work instead of driving.
Miguel is playing guitar instead of drumming.

These are workable sentences, but they have certain implications.

The first implies that you normally drive to work, but that today you're walking (because your car is in the shop, or because it's a "spare the air" day, or whatever).

The second implies that Miguel normally plays the drums, or would be expected to play the drums on this particular song.

Students are embracing the difficulties of grammar instead of giving up.

This sentence is grammatically sound, but its meaning is troubling: it implies that the students would normally be expected to give up!

Hi Ron,

Can we use BUT RATHER or BUT INSTEAD together..??
Or its redundant as both words show contrast.

Related question to this problem.

Machines powered by hydraulics are not driven by the steam produced by boiling water, but rather,
high-pressure fluids are transmitted throughout the machine to various motors and hydraulic cylinders.

a) water, but rather
b) water, but instead
c) water; instead
d) water; rather
e) water; but


OA- C

Can we straightaway eliminate Option A and B by simply seeing BUT RATHER or BUT INSTEAD together...??

Please share your views.

Thanks in advance.
Prakhar

[tim]

There is nothing inherently wrong with saying "but rather" or "but instead".