rather than

rather than 主要有三种含义。

A. 单纯地表示否定, rather than = and not。在这种情况下它可以连接任何词性相同的词。例如：

1. The colour seems green rather than blue. 颜色好像是绿色,不是蓝色。

2. It ought to be you rather than me that signs the letter. (PEU) 是你而不是我应该在这封信上签字。

3. They were screaming rather than singing. (CGEL) 他们是在尖叫，而不是在唱歌。

4. He was engaged in writing rather than reading the newspaper. 他正忙着写东西,而不是在读报纸。

B. 表示两种说法的正确程度。rather... than 后面的部分是不够精确的说法, 是 more... than (与其说……不如说……) 相似的表达方法:

1. He is an artist rather than a philosopher. 与其说他是个哲学家,不如说他是个艺术家。

2. When Zimbabwe becomes independent, therefore, this is seen merely as the opening act to the final play on Southern Africa rather than as a separate case. 因此，当津巴布韦宣告独立时，与其说人们把它看成是一个孤立事件，还不如说人们把它看成是南部非洲最后一出戏的第一幕。

C. 表示主观上选优。主句表示喜欢做的事(主句中常含有 would prefer, like 等), rather than 从句则表示不喜欢做的事。在这种情况下, rather than 可以放在主句之前。

1. I would die with my head high rather than live with knees bent. 我宁愿昂着头去死，也不愿意跪着生。

2. Rather than get money in such a dishonest way, he would beg in the streets. 他宁愿在街上乞讨，也不愿以这种不正当的手段挣钱。

3. They were not alike; Aberforth was never bookish and, unlike Albus, preferred to settle arguments by duelling rather than through reasoned discussion. (J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) 他们两兄弟一点也不像，弟弟阿伯福思不像阿不思那样喜欢读书，偏向用决斗解决问题而非理性的讨论。（《哈利·波特与死亡圣徒》）

当主句中有 would, should 时, 可将位于句末的 rather than 从句中的 rather 转移到主句中去:

1. He would rather beg in the streets than get money in such a dishonest way. 他宁愿在街上乞讨，也不以这种不正当的手段挣钱。

2. He would rather pay the fine than appeal to a higher court. (CGEL) 他宁愿付罚款，也不向上级法院上告。

3. I'd rather take the slowest train than go there by air. (CGEL) 我宁愿坐最慢的火车，也不乘飞机去那里。

上句中的 rather than 是英语里一种非常常见的格式。但是,有趣的是,我国出版的许多英汉词典大都没有对这一用法进行注译,甚至 1995 年出版的《最新高级英汉词典》也是如此。下面是我国出版的一些英汉词典对 rather than 的注译,它们忽略了上面的用法:

1.《英汉大辞典》:(与其)……毋宁愿;不如……的好。

2.《新英汉词典》:宁可,宁愿,与其……倒不如……

3.《最新高级英汉词典》:宁可,愿意;[与其……]倒不如。

其实, rather than 在不跟情态动词 (would, will) 等连用时, 并无“宁可”“与其……倒不如”的意思, 而仅仅表示否定, 可以译为“(而)不是”。这种用法的 rather than 叫做准并列连词, 在语义上相当于 and not。但是, 必须注意, 它往往连接词性相同的词项:

1. She telephoned rather than wrote. (CGEL) 她打了电话,而没有写信。

2. John ought to go rather than Jean. (LDCE) 是约翰应该去,而不是琼(应该去)。

3. He was an objective rather than a subjective writer. (Fox) 他是客观主义作家,而不是主观主义作家。

4. He is to be pitied rather than to be disliked. (CGEL) 他应该得到怜悯,而不是被厌恶。

5. I'm going to forget the whole affair, rather than cause trouble. (CGEL) 我打算把整个事情都忘得一干二净，而不是打算惹麻烦。

6. That is a children's tale, told to amuse rather than to instruct. (J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) 那是一个孩子的故事,为了娱乐而不是教育。(《哈利·波特与死亡圣徒》)

rather than 作“而不”解时,它连接的词项的结构常常是相同的。在上面的句子里 telephoned 与 wrote 正好对应(都是一般过去时),因此,这里用 wrote 是正确的。下面再补充几个 rather than 连接相同结构的实例:

1. In 1903 the Wright brothers' invention was ignored rather than recognized. 1903年怀特兄弟的发明被摈弃了，而未被认可。

2. He killed himself rather than got caught by the enemy. 他自杀了,而不是被敌人抓住了。

rather than $^{5}$

当然, 把上面句子里的 wrote 改为 write 或 to write, 甚至 writing, 也是正确的, 见下条。请做下面的英语试题:

He came all the way to China for promoting friendship(促进友谊) ____ for making money. A. other than B. more than C. better than D. rather than

在 rather than 之后可以跟不带 to 的动词不定式：

1. He wanted to sunbathe rather than swim. (CGEL) 他宁愿晒日光浴也不去游泳。

2. He decided to write rather than telephone. (PEU) 他决定写信,不打电话。

3. Rather than go there, I'd prefer to stay here on my own. (EGS) 我宁愿自己呆在这儿，也不去那里。

4. It had sensed the presence of the sword and had tried to kill Harry rather than let him possess it. (J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) 它已经觉察到了宝剑的存在，并试图杀死哈利，而不是让他拥有它。（《哈利·波特与死亡圣徒》）

5. He paid the fine rather than appeal to a higher court. (CGEL) 他付了罚款,而没有向上级法院申诉。

6. She likes to keep things rather than throw them away. (EED) 她喜欢把东西保留下来，而不愿把它们扔掉。

也可以跟带 to 的动词不定式：

1. He prefers to rent a car rather than to have one of his own. (Close) 他宁可租汽车，而不愿拥有一辆自己的汽车。

2. He wanted to sunbathe rather than to swim. (CGEL) 他宁愿晒日光浴，也不去游泳。

3. I believe it is important to invest in new machinery rather than to increase wages. 我认为重要的是在新机器上投资,而不是涨工资。

rather than 之后还可以跟动名词(在这种情况下 rather than 是介词):

1. We ought to check up, rather than just accepting what he says. (PEU) 我们应该检查一下，而不是只接受他所说的话。

2. Their actions precipitated the war rather than averting it. (CGEL) 他们的行动不是阻止战争,而是加速战争。

3. Rather than driving to the front door, Langdon pulled into a parking area nestled in the evergreens. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 兰登没把车开到前门，而是把它停在了常春藤环绕的停车场上。(《达·芬奇密码》)

我国的英语著作大都是这么讲的。但是，这并不符合实际。请看下面的实例(参见上条)：

1. ... prefer to leave rather than to subvert their values. (MWDEU) ……我宁愿离开也不破坏他们的价值观。

2. Helen prefers to go by train rather than to fly. (OWPD) 海伦宁愿坐火车去而不愿乘飞机去。

正确的答案是 A, 见 as well as $^{6}$ 。

该书的论述符合常见的情况。但是，您援引的例句证明该书的论述是不全面的。实际上，人们有时把 rather than 看作准并列连词，而使前一词项与后一词项保持对称关系（参见 parallelism），如上面例句中的 to sunbathe 与 to swim（均为带 to 的动词不定式）。