rather可以修饰形容词、副词的原级、比较级等;可以与介词短语连用.如:
she was rather hurt by h** unkind words.
下面一些是网上copy的，你想看就看~了解用的~
一、用作副词,意为"宁可,宁愿
1.rather than意为"而不是;与其…不如",后接名词、代词、形容词、动词原形等.如:
these shoes are comfortable rather than pretty.
rather than allow the vegetables to go bad，he sold them at half price.
it ** he rather than i who ** to blame.
2.would rather do.than do.=would do.rather than do.宁愿做…而不愿做….如:
i would go there by bus rather than take the train.
3.prefer to do.rather than do.宁愿做…而不愿做….如:
we prefer to receive money rather than the usual gifts.
二、用作感叹词,意为"当然
would you like a swim？rather.
三、习惯用语及搭配
1.or rather更确切，更恰当；更接近.如:
he went home very late last night，or rather，in the early hours th** morning.
2.would rather意为"宁愿",后接动词原形,其否定形式是would rather not do.如:
which would you rather h**e，tea or coffee？american young people would rather get advice from strangers.
3.i would rather that.这是虚拟语气形式,若从句表示与现在或将来的情况相反,用一般过去时;与过去的事实相反,用过去完成时.如:
i would rather you came tomorrow.
i'd rather you hadn't told her the news yesterday.
高考真题回放:
1.-shall we go skating or stay at home？which_do yourself？（met'92）
a.do you rather
b.would you rather
c.will you rather
d.should you rather
2.rather than_on a crowded bus，he always prefers a bicycle.（nmet'94）
a.ride；ride b.riding；ride
c.ride；to ride d.to ride；riding
简析:
1.b 考查would rather do sth.这一句型的用法.
2.c 这是prefer to do.rather than do.这一常用句型的变式,用法一致比较分类分析>来源:chasedream 一、more/less/adj+er than注：此分析未包括as/like（一）主语比较1.1 than前若有宾语，则其后的助词需补出，时态要据后定。主语相同可省（1）.the pay of senior executives increased in 1990 by a larger percentage than did the wages of other salaried workers.（2）.as a result of the continuing decline in the birth rate,fewer people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than did in the 1960’s and 1970’s,a twenty-year period during which people born after the war swelled the ranks of workers.(主语people相同且无定语成分则省之，但did不能省)（3）.several studies h**e found that the coronary patients who exerc**e most actively are at least fifty percent less likely than those who are sedentary to die of a heart attack.（主语相同且有定语成分，必须要that/those来指代）1.2 than前只有be+adj，则其后的主语无须补助词。（1).even though bela bartok’s music has proved less popular than igor str**insky’s and less influential than arnold schonberg’s,it ** no less important.(2).in 1982 the median income for married-couple families with a wage-earning wife was$9,000 than that for families in which only the hu**and was employed.1.3 than前有两个动词，比较主语无须补助词。(1).a study comm**sioned by the department of agriculture showed that if calves exerc**e and associate with other calves,they h**e require less medication and gain weight quickly than those ra**ed in confinement.（二）than后名词前的介词要补出（1）.aging ** a property of all animals that reach a fixed size at maturity,and the variations in life spans among different species are far greater than those among individuals of the same species:a fruit fly ** ancient at 40 days,a mouse at 3 years,a horse at 30,a man at 100,and some torto**es at 150.介宾的比较。（2）.the investor who ** uncertain about the future ** likely to put money into blue-chip stocks or treasury bills than into gold.（3）.nowhere in prakta ** the influence of modern european architecture apparent than in its ** buildings.（倒装句）（4）.the human growth hormone,made by the pituitary gland,** secreted in higher concentrations during sleep than during waking hours.（三）宾语比较，一般加that/those（1）.in addition to h**ing protein than wheat does,rice has protein of higher quality than that in wheat,with of the amino acids essential to the human diet.(b-p106-19)（四）宾语补语，比较结构修饰宾语，无须补出助词；（1）.in h** eagerness to find a city worthy of priam,the german archaeolog**t schliemann cut through troy and uncovered a civilization a thousand years ancient than the city known to homer’s heroes.（2）.domestic automobile manufacturers h**e invested millions of dollars in research to develop cars even gasoline-efficient than those at present on the road.（3）.the man was always aware,sometimes proudly and sometimes resentfully,that he was a small-town midwesterner thrust into a world dominated by wealthier,better-educated,and pol**hed people than he.（4）.bihar ** india’s state,with an annual percapita income of$111 lower than that of the most impover**hed countries of the world.（5）.florida will gain another quarter-million jobs th** year alone,many of them in such high-paying fields as electronics and banking,making the state’s economy far diversified than it was ten years ago.（需要解释）