rather的用法可從以下幾點掌握:

　　一、rather作副詞,意為寧愿;寧可。作此意解的rather常和would / had連用,構成固定短語。would / had rather...than譯為寧愿......而不愿 ,應該特別注意此短語的否定構成及其后接的動詞形式。如:

　　He would rather have the small one than the large one. 他寧愿要一個小的,而不要大的。

　　I’d rather take the slowest train than go there by air. 我寧愿坐最慢的火車,也不乘飛機去那里。

　　I would rather not tell you the secret right now. 我現在不愿把那個秘密告訴你。

　　would / had rather 后接從句時,從句中的謂語動詞用虛擬語氣。如:

　　I would / had rather you posted the letter right away, 我倒希望你把這封信立即發出。

　　I would / had rather that she had stayed at home. 她那時要是留在家里就好了。

　　二、rather作副詞用時,意為更確切地。 此用法的rather常用在or rather這一短語中,表示想要糾正已經說過的話,或欲使已說過的話更確切。如:

　　He worked till late last night, or rather, early in the morning. 他一直工作到深夜,或者更確切地說,到今天凌晨。

　　The building is like a palace, or rather a temple. 這幢建筑物像一座宮殿,或者更確切地說像一座寺廟。

　　三、rather作副詞用時, 還可作相當;頗;有點兒解。如:

　　You’ve done rather well.你做得相當好。

　　The way he is living is rather strange to me. 他的生活方式我覺得很怪。

　　rather, fairly, quite, pretty的區別:

　　1. 從程度上說, fairly是最輕的一個;quite比fairly 語氣稍強;rather 在程度上比quite更重一些;pretty 和rather 差不多,但大多數情況下用于非正式文體。如:

　　They were getting along fairly well with each other. 他們相處還不錯。

　　He was quite polite, but he wasn’t ready to help me. 他相當有禮貌,但他并不愿意幫助我。

　　There’s something rather strange about the way he talks to you. 他跟你說話的樣子真有點怪。

　　Twenty-five is pretty old to take up ballet dancing.二十五歲才學跳芭蕾,年紀就太大了。

　　2. rather 和quite可放在不定冠詞前,也可放在不定冠詞之后,還可以和動詞連用,而fairly 和pretty沒有這些用法。如:

　　That is quite / rather a surprising result. =That is a quite / rather surprising result. 那是一個相當驚人的結果。

　　I rather / quite like to go for a walk after supper. 我頗喜歡在晚飯后出去散步。

　　3. 只有rather可以修飾比較級,還可和too連用。如:

　　This computer is rather more expensive than that one.這部電腦比那部昂貴一些。

　　This book is rather too difficult for the beginners.這部書對初學者來說太難了。

　　四、rather than 的用法。

　　rather 不僅是一個表示程度的副詞,還能用來表示選擇,意為而非;(與其......)倒不如。rather than 經常用在平行結構里,即連接兩個對等成分。

　　I’d prefer to go in August rather than July. 我愿八月去,不愿七月去。

　　I’d call her hair chestnut rather than brown. 我寧愿說她的頭發是栗色,而不是棕色。

　　We ought to invest in new machines rather than buildings. 我們應該在新的機器上而不是在房屋上投資。

　　I decided to write rather than telephone. 我決定寫信而不打電話。

　　Rather than get money in such a dishonest way, he would beg in the streets. 他寧愿在街上乞討,也不愿以這種不正當的手段掙錢。

　　I always prefer starting early, rather than leaving everything to the last minute. 我總是愿意早開始而不愿意把所有事情都留到最后。