[詞彙區別] rather than 與 instead of 的用法區別
1. instead of 是介係詞，意思為「代替; 寧願」，instead of 需搭配名詞或動名詞 (ving )。
He chose tea instead of coffee.
他選擇了茶，而不是咖啡。
Instead of punishing George,* his father praised him for his honesty.
George的爸爸不但沒有處罰他，反而還稱讚了George的誠實。
*instead of 放在句首時，記得要打逗號，以區分主句和 instead of 片語。
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2. rather than 當連接詞時意為「是…而不是…」
We use “rather than” to give more importance to one thing when two alternatives or preferences are being compared.
當句子中針對2個選項在進行比較的時候，我們常會運用 rather than 這個連結詞去加強其中一件事情本身相對較高的重要性。其前後所連接的兩個字在詞性和結構上必須相稱。
He was happy (adj.) rather than sad (adj.).
他是快樂而非難過的。
She ate her meal slowly (adv.) rather than quickly (adv.).
她慢條斯理地而不是快速地用餐。
Can we come over in the morning (prep. phrase) rather than at night (prep. phrase)?
我們可以早上而不要晚上過去嗎 ?
She wants to be a professor (n.) rather than a high school teacher (n.).
她想要成為的是一位教授，而非一位高中老師。
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3. 另一個常見的用法是would rather...than...，指「寧可…而不願….」，此處的rather than也是被當成連接詞作使用，其後接原形動詞。「寧願…而不願…」句型中的rather than通常不會被放在句首，常用的表達方式如下：
I would rather stay home than go out tonight.
我寧願待在家也不要和你出去。
She would rather play the drums than sing.
比起唱歌，她寧願打鼓。
I would rather sing a song than dance on stage.
我寧可唱首歌也不要上台跳舞。
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4. rather than 可作「介系詞」用，表「而不是…」之意，其句型為：rather than ( = instead of ) + n / v-ing*
Sometimes John drinks orange juice rather than ( = instead of ) milk.
John 有時候會喝柳橙汁，而不是牛奶。
Tina went to bed early rather than ( = instead of ) staying up late.
Tina 早就上床睡覺了，而沒有熬夜。
*有一些人會認為 rather than 後面接動名詞是非正式用法，請看以下的說明。
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※注意
A. 當 rather than 連接兩個字詞做為句子的主詞時，其動詞單複數變化須以第一個字詞為主。
The teacher (subject) rather than the students is (verb) to blame.
該受責備的是老師而不是學生。
B. 當主要子句有動詞，不定詞 (to v.) 時 to 在 rather than 後通常省略，rather than 後直接搭配原形動詞 (此時 rather than 被當成對等連接詞，其前後所連接的兩個字在詞性和結構上必須相稱) 。
He prefers to walk (to v.) rather than (to) run (v.).
他想要用走的，而不是跑的。
C. 當主要子句有動詞，rather than 後可接動詞。此時 rather than 視為連接詞。
He walks (v.) rather than runs (v.) to school every day.
他走路，而不是每天跑到學校的。
主要的動詞是過去式或是過去分詞時，rather than 後可接動名詞 v-ing（此時 rather than 被當成介系詞)。原因是有些人覺得對稱構句如果被應用在這裡並不適當，而另一方面，連接動名詞 (v-ing) 也可有加強敘述事件內容的含義。
The American Heritage Book of English Usage: A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English: http://goo.gl/BF3VZa
Rather than ending the controversy, the results of the study added to it.
Rather than paying the taxi fare, he walked home.
Why didn't you ask for help, rather than trying to do it on your own?
She made students think for themselves, rather than telling them what to think.
Rather than studying Chemistry we decided to study Anatomy
rather than 後可接動名詞 (v-ing)
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/rather
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rather?q=rather+than&searchDictCode=all
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/rather_1
http://blog.cybertranslator.idv.tw/archives/2847
E. 有些人會認定說 rather than 只能被當成連結詞去做使用，不太會被當成介系詞。但其實在日常生活的應用上並沒有甚麼區別。
我的建議是:當你在考試的時候，如果將 rather than 當成連接詞的話，就必須要確認其前後所連接的兩個詞彙，它們在詞性和結構上必須要相稱；那另一方面，把 instead of 和動名詞及名詞片語搭配使用。當然，你最好還是要能夠去區分這兩種用法在詞意上實際的差異，所以，前述的建議是要幫助各位同學在面對考試的過程中，穩扎穩打，不輕易失分。
F. Rather than 和 instead of 在被當成介系詞使用時，還會有另一項差異: rather than 常被用來表達人物對於句子中，rather than 前方選項的偏好；而 instead of 則是以替代性質的詞意為主。
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Sources:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/would-rather-would-sooner
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rather?q=rather+than&searchDictCode=all
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rather%20than
www.azargrammar.com/GerundsInfinsImpRules.pdf
http://josecarilloforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=6136.0
http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/ratherthan.html
http://blog.cybertranslator.idv.tw/archives/2847
http://www.learnerhall.org/2012/11/insteadinstead-ofrather-than.html
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詞彙區別: http://goo.gl/xnhtQg
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