Usage of X but rather Y

Question

Hello experts,

I wanted to know when we can use the idiom "X but rather Y".

I agree that we use to join items that are grammatically equivalent.

However, I wanted to know if X and Y can be nouns, adjectives or clauses, or is it that this idiom is used only for nouns and adjectives.

Thanks,
sad_general

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear sad_general , I'm happy to respond. :-)

First, I would say that the X is often preceded by " not ," so the whole idiom would something more like " not X but rather Y ." In many ways, the real idiom is " not X but Y " and the word " rather " is simply an intensifier. This is a rather versatile idiom. It certainly can be used for nouns & adjectives. It can be used for verb and verb phrases, for participial phrase & infinitive phrases & gerund phrases. It's hard to imagine it for two clauses, although it could be used for two short nouns, each modified by a clause. He was not a man who would do P, Q, and R, but rather a man who would do X, Y, and Z. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

sad_general · Answer

Thanks, Mike!

In fact it does. So to conclude, you will see the usage of this idiom among nouns, verbs, adjectives, gerunds, participle phrases and what not, but there is no evidence of usage to combine clauses.

Sadiq

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Ambika02 · Answer

Shivamraz · Answer

isn't the use of but rather is redundant?

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Might be good to look at an SC holistically.

roVanG · Answer

Can some clarify which here is the right parallel structure? I'm getting conflicting answers, so please help.

1. The team traveled rather than flew to the tournament

2. The team traveled rather than fly to the tournament

3. The team traveled rather than flying to the tournament

Usage of X but rather Y

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