Rather usage 2

Rather usage 2

1. Rather a with a noun is more common in formal language than in informal language, particularly in writing:

   • It was rather a surprise to find them in the house before me.

2. We often use rather with a lot to refer to large amounts and quantities:

   • It cost me rather a lot of money. You’ve given me rather a lot.
   • We also use rather a lot to mean ‘often’
     • They went there rather a lot. You’ll be seeing rather a lot of me over the next few weeks.

3. We use rather with more and less + an adjective or adverb in formal writing to make a comparison with something:

   • Now that she saw Rupert again, he was rather less interesting and a little older than she had remembered him.

4. We use rather with like to refer to similarities. We use rather like to mean ‘quite similar to’:

   • They were small animals, rather like rats. I was in the middle. I felt rather like a referee at a football match trying to be fair and keep the sides apart.