rather than / instead of / but not | WordReference Forums

It works better when followed directly with something more like a noun. No comma is needed with "rather than" or with "instead of", but you need ... Forums Dictionarysearch:  English-Spanish English-French English-Italian English-German English-Dutch English-Russian English-Portuguese English-Polish English-Romanian English-Swedish English-Czech English-Greek English-Turkish English-Chinese English-Japanese English-Korean English-Arabic Spanish-English French-English Italian-English German-English Dutch-English Russian-English Portuguese-English Polish-English Romanian-English Swedish-English Czech-English Greek-English Turkish-English Chinese-English Japanese-English Korean-English Arabic-English Spanish-French Spanish-Portuguese Spanish-Catalan French-Spanish Portuguese-Spanish Englishdefinition Englishsynonyms Englishcollocations Englishusage Italiandefinition Spanishdefinition Spanishsynonyms Catalandefinition Spanish French Italian Login Register What'snew Search Rules/Help/FAQ Members InterfaceLanguage Menu Login Register Installtheapp Install Forums EnglishOnly EnglishOnly Youareusinganoutofdatebrowser.Itmaynotdisplaythisorotherwebsitescorrectly.Youshouldupgradeoruseanalternativebrowser. ratherthan/insteadof/butnot Threadstarter ChineseSu Startdate May3,2017 C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese 1.Heearns/makesmoneyallbyhimselfratherthanthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 2.Hismoneyisearned/madethrougheffortsratherthanthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 3.Hismoneyishard-earned;ithasnothingtodowithhisconnections(inhighplaces). Q1Isitbettertoreplace"ratherthan"with"insteadof"or"butnot"? Q2Isitbettertoaddacommabefore"ratherthan"? Q3.Arethereotherwaystoconveytheintendedsamemeaning?(ifyouhavetime) Thankyou   TheNewt SeniorMember USA/EEUU English-US Youcanuse"insteadof"ratherthan"ratherthan.""Butnot"isn'trightinthoseexamples.   C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese TheNewtsaid: Youcanuse"insteadof"ratherthan"ratherthan.""Butnot"isn'trightinthoseexamples. Clicktoexpand... Q1Thankyou,howabout",butnot"? Q2Isitbettertoaddacommabefore"ratherthan"or"insteadof"here?   TheNewt SeniorMember USA/EEUU English-US ChineseSusaid: Q1Thankyou,howabout",butnot"? Q2Isitbettertoaddacommabefore"ratherthan"or"insteadof"here? Clicktoexpand... Theproblemwith"butnot"isthatitisn'tusedtomakeacontrast,buttoexcludecertainpossibilities.Forexample: Ilikeseafood,butnotshrimp.(Shrimpisasubsetofseafood.) Ilikefishinsteadofshrimp.(Fishandshrimpareinopposition.)   V Vronsky SeniorMember Russian-Russia Maybeitispossibletouse",not"(withoutbut)   TheNewt SeniorMember USA/EEUU English-US Vronskysaid: Maybeitispossibletouse",not"(withoutbut) Clicktoexpand... Yes,Iagree.   C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese Iseewhy'butfor'wouldn'tworknowandthataddingacommabefore'ratherthan'and'insteadof'hereisnotnecessary. Thankyou,TheNewtandVronsky Question1:Thefollowingsentencesarefine,right?Thankyou 1.Heearns/makesmoneyallbyhimself,notthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 2.Hismoneyisearned/madethroughefforts,notthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 3.Hismoneyishard-earned,notthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 4.Hisfortune*isself-made,notthroughconnections(inhighplaces). Question2:Doyouthinkit'sbettertoleaveout"his"ornot?Thankyou 3-2.Hismoneyishard-earned;ithasnothingtodowithhisconnections(inhighplaces). 4-2.Hisfortune*isself-made;ithasnothingtodowithhisconnections(inhighplaces).   Lastedited:May4,2017 TheNewt SeniorMember USA/EEUU English-US Thesetwoarenotquiteright: 3.Hismoneyishard-earned,notthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 4.Hisfortuneisself-made,notthroughconnections(inhighplaces). Theproblemwiththemisthattheydon'tuseparallelconstruction.Youcanfixthemeasilybyaddingaverb: 3.Hismoneyishard-earned,notobtainedthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 4.Hisfortuneisself-made,notobtainedthroughconnections(inhighplaces). Youcaneitherinclude"his"orleaveitout;it'sfineeitherway.   F Forero SeniorMember Maumelle,Arkansas,USA USAEnglish ChineseSusaid: 1.Heearns/makesmoneyallbyhimselfratherthanthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 2.Hismoneyisearned/madethrougheffortsratherthanthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 3.Hismoneyishard-earned;ithasnothingtodowithhisconnections(inhighplaces). Q1Isitbettertoreplace"ratherthan"with"insteadof"or"butnot"? Q2Isitbettertoaddacommabefore"ratherthan"? Q3.Arethereotherwaystoconveytheintendedsamemeaning?(ifyouhavetime) Thankyou Clicktoexpand... Ifind"insteadof"ratherawkwardinthiscontext.Itworksbetterwhenfolloweddirectlywithsomethingmorelikeanoun. Nocommaisneededwith"ratherthan"orwith"insteadof",butyouneedacommabefore"butnot"orplain"not"here. "Ratherthan"and"not"conveysimilar,butnotidenticalmeanings.   C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese TheNewtsaid: Thesetwoarenotquiteright: 3.Hismoneyishard-earned,notthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 4.Hisfortuneisself-made,notthroughconnections(inhighplaces). Theproblemwiththemisthattheydon'tuseparallelconstruction.Youcanfixthemeasilybyaddingaverb: 3.Hismoneyishard-earned,notobtainedthroughconnections(inhighplaces). 4.Hisfortuneisself-made,notobtainedthroughconnections(inhighplaces). Youcaneitherinclude"his"orleaveitout;it'sfineeitherway. Clicktoexpand... CrystalClear.Thankyousomuchforyourhelp However,Ihaveonequestionthough... Afriendofminecommentedthatusing"butnot"isn'tcorrect.Sheseemedtoagreewithyou "Butnot,acoordinatorwithanegative,isusedtoexcludesomethingafterstatingageneralization". Butnotvs.Except|GrammarQuizzes Butanotherfriendofminedisagreedbygivingthesetwoexamples: WhycanweseestarsfromEarth,butnotfromspace? https://www.quora.com/Why-can-we-see-stars-from-Earth-but-not-from-space Martinoretiresfromhospitalitybutnotfromservice Martinoretiresfromhospitalitybutnotfromservice-SantaYnezValleyStar Iamreallyconfusednow.Thankyou   C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese Forerosaid: Ifind"insteadof"ratherawkwardinthiscontext.Itworksbetterwhenfolloweddirectlywithsomethingmorelikeanoun. Nocommaisneededwith"ratherthan"orwith"insteadof",butyouneedacommabefore"butnot"orplain"not"here. "Ratherthan"and"not"conveysimilar,butnotidenticalmeanings. Clicktoexpand... Thankyouforyouranswer Question1:Areyousayingthat",butnot"isalsocorrect? 1.Heearns/makesmoneyallbyhimself,(but)notconnections(inhighplaces). 2.Hismoneyisearned/madethroughefforts,(but)notthroughconnections(inhighplaces). Thenwhat'syourviewaboutthefollowing?....I'mgettingmoreconfused Theproblemwith"butnot"isthatitisn'tusedtomakeacontrast,buttoexcludecertainpossibilities. Forexample:Ilikeseafood,butnotshrimp.(Shrimpisasubsetofseafood.)" Question2:"Ratherthan"and"not"conveysimilar,butnotidenticalmeanings. Sohowdotheydifferinmeaning?Thankyou   TheNewt SeniorMember USA/EEUU English-US ChineseSusaid: [...] Butanotherfriendofminedisagreedbygivingthesetwoexamples: WhycanweseestarsfromEarth,butnotfromspace? https://www.quora.com/Why-can-we-see-stars-from-Earth-but-not-from-space Martinoretiresfromhospitalitybutnotfromservice Martinoretiresfromhospitalitybutnotfromservice-SantaYnezValleyStar Iamreallyconfusednow.Thankyou Clicktoexpand... Goodquestion.Ithinkit'sbecauseseeingstarsandretiringaregeneralclassesfromwhichcertainsubclasses(fromspace,fromservice)arebeingexcluded.Togobacktoyouroriginalexampleagain: "Hemakesmoney,butnotthroughconnections. "Hemakesmoneythroughhardwork,butnotthroughconnections.   V Vronsky SeniorMember Russian-Russia ChineseSusaid: Question2:"Ratherthan"and"not"conveysimilar,butnotidenticalmeanings. Sohowdotheydifferinmeaning? Clicktoexpand... Ithinkinsomecontexts,thereisnodifference. Receivemyinstruction,andnotsilver;Andknowledgeratherthanchoicegold.(TheBible,ASVtranslation) Receivemyinstructionratherthansilver,andknowledgeratherthanchoicegold.(NETtranslation) Choosemyinstructioninsteadofsilver,knowledgeratherthanchoicegold(NIVtranslation)​ Butnotisusedwhenyouwanttomakeacorrectiontowhatyoujustsaid: Heearns/makesmoneyallbyhimselfbutnotphysicallabor.   Lastedited:May4,2017 C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese TheNewtsaid: Goodquestion.Ithinkit'sbecauseseeingstarsandretiringaregeneralclassesfromwhichcertainsubclasses(fromspace,fromservice)arebeingexcluded.Togobacktoyouroriginalexampleagain: "Hemakesmoney,butnotthroughconnections. "Hemakesmoneythroughhardwork,butnotthroughconnections. Clicktoexpand... Thanksalotforyourexplanation!I'vegotamuchbetterpicturenow Ismyunderstanding100%correct?Thankyou Question1: Hemakesmoneybutnotthroughconnections.(Correct) Hemakesmoney,butnotthroughconnections.(Correct) =Therearemanymeansforhimtomakemoney,and‘connections’isoneofthepossiblemeansbeingexcluded. Otherexamplesinclude: Theroomhasbeenpainted(,)butnotinthecolourthatIaskedfor. I’dlovetogoforapizzawithyou(,)butnottonight. But-EnglishGrammarToday-CambridgeDictionary Therefore,thefollowingareWRONGbecause‘butnot’isn'tusedtomakeacontrast,buttoexcludecertainpossibilities. 1.Heearns/makesmoneyallbyhimself(,)butnotthroughconnections.(Wrong) 2.Hismoneyisearned/madethroughhardwork(,)butnotthroughconnections.(Wrong) Question2: AccordingtoForero:Ifind"insteadof"ratherawkwardinthiscontext.Itworksbetterwhenfolloweddirectlywithsomethingmorelikeanoun."Insteadof"canbefollowedonlybyanounornounphrase.(Correct)   C Cagey postmod(EnglishOnly/Latin) California English-US ChineseSusaid: 1.Heearns/makesmoneyallbyhimself(,)butnotthroughconnections.(Wrong) 2.Hismoneyisearned/madethroughhardwork(,)butnotthroughconnections.(Wrong) Clicktoexpand... Iagreewithyouthatthesearewrong. Idon'tunderstandyourQuestion2.Ifyouareaskingaboutthedifferencebetween'insteadof'and'ratherthan,'pleaseseethepreviousthreads:insteadofratherthan.   C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese Cageysaid: Iagreewithyouthatthesearewrong. Clicktoexpand... Gotit,thankyouforhelpingme.   C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese AsfarasIknow,"butnot"isn'tusedtomakeacontrast,buttoexcludecertainpossibilities. Forexample:Ilikeseafood,butnotshrimp.(Shrimpisasubsetofseafood.) Question:Howwouldyouinterpretthesesentences? IhavedonemyinterpretationforNo.1.Ihavenoideaifitiscorrectthough. Idon'tknowhowtointerpretNO.2andNO.3... 1.Hemakesmoneybutnotthroughconnections. Hemakesmoney,butnotthroughconnections. =Therearemanymeansforhimtomakemoney,and‘connections’isoneofthepossiblemeansbeingexcluded. 2.TheroomhasbeenpaintedbutnotinthecolourthatIaskedfor. Theroomhasbeenpainted,butnotinthecolourthatIaskedfor. 3.I’dlovetogoforapizzawithyoubutnottonight. I’dlovetogoforapizzawithyou,butnottonight.   C Cagey postmod(EnglishOnly/Latin) California English-US Youcanfollowthesamepatternyouusedinthefirstsentencetointerpretthesecondandthirdsentences: Therearemanymeansforhimtomakemoney,and‘connections’isoneofthepossiblemeansbeingexcluded.​ 2.Theroomhasbeenpainted,butnotinthecolourthatIaskedfor. Therearemanycolourstheroomcouldbepaintedin,andthecolourIwantedisoneofthepossiblecoloursbeingexcluded. 3.TherearemanynightsIwouldlovetogoforapizzawithyou,andtonightisoneofthepossiblenightsbeingexcluded. I’dlovetogoforapizzawithyou,butnottonight.​ Note:Iprefertheversionswithacomma.   C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese Cageysaid: Youcanfollowthesamepatternyouusedinthefirstsentencetointerpretthesecondandthirdsentences: Therearemanymeansforhimtomakemoney,and‘connections’isoneofthepossiblemeansbeingexcluded.​ 2.Theroomhasbeenpainted,butnotinthecolourthatIaskedfor. Therearemanycolourstheroomcouldbepaintedin,andthecolourIwantedisoneofthepossiblecoloursbeingexcluded. 3.TherearemanynightsIwouldlovetogoforapizzawithyou,andtonightisoneofthepossiblenightsbeingexcluded. I’dlovetogoforapizzawithyou,butnottonight.​ Note:Iprefertheversionswithacomma. Clicktoexpand... Thankyouforhelpingmewithmyquestion,Cagey! Yourexplanationiscrystalclearandmyproblemisthereforesolved   C ChineseSu SeniorMember Chinese Thankyouallforyourreplies(TheNewt,Vronsky,Forero,andCagey). Iwillkeepyourkindnessandhelpinmind.Hurrayforyou!   Youmustloginorregistertoreplyhere. Share: Facebook Twitter Reddit WhatsApp Email Share Link Forums EnglishOnly EnglishOnly Top