# EN: Rather - beginning a sentence



## danthaman07

I was wondering if one could begin a phrase with rather. For example: 

Rather, the enhancement of multi-tasking promotes inefficiency. 

Thanks.


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## xymox

danthaman07 said:


> I was wondering if one could begin a phrase with rather. For example:
> 
> Rather, the enhancement of multi-tasking promotes inefficiency.
> 
> Thanks.


It doesn't sound correct to me. Can you provide sentences before and after so that we can have more context in order to suggest other ideas.


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## danthaman07

Ok here is the sentence in its context. 

Contrary to popular belief, it is my contention that these wireless devices do not in any way improve our society. Rather, the enhancement of multi-tasking promotes inefficiency. Furthermore, the claim that its ‘hand-free’ capabilities improve our driving is false and unsupported.


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## xymox

Hi,

I can't think of any rule which prohibits it use at the beginning of a sentence but I don't recall seeing it.

"The enhancement of multi-tasking has rather proven/shown to be inefficient." sounds more natural to me. Or "rather promotes inefficiency" if it hasn't been proven or shown.

Hope this helps.


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## danthaman07

I have never seen it written either, and yet it makes since within the context. 

Thanks.


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## englishman

danthaman07 said:


> I was wondering if one could begin a phrase with rather. For example:
> 
> Rather, the enhancement of multi-tasking promotes inefficiency.
> 
> Thanks.



Yes, it's perfectly good English, and reasonably common in formal writing. The paragraph you present in a later posting uses it correctly, and is very well written in general. "Rather" fits perfectly with the rather didactic register you have chosen.


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## ascoltate

This use of "rather" sounds perfect in English. In fact, I would say it is one of the more common (if not the most common) use of the word "rather" this side of the Atlantic...


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## lilly lil

hello!
could you please translate it into french? "rather" beginning a sentence


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## ascoltate

"Au contraire"...


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## JiPiJou

Could I suggest that "rather" is not really at the beginning of the sentence. It is just that the whole thing is so terribly wordy that the author has felt the need to breathe (hence, the full stop) and has therefore cut his comparison into two pieces. It sounds like a GMAT _Reading Comprehension_ sentence ! Awful. The real sentence should have been something like : 

"It is not so much that these wireless devices do not in any way improve our society but rather that the enhancement of multi-tasking promotes inefficiency".


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## fr3nchl3arner

Using rather is acceptable. But it is be more grammatically correct to use a similar term such as "In fact, the enhancement..."


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## lilly lil

i've seen write "rather" in the beginning of a sentence on a serious web site, in an architecte article, explaining his project, his exibition... it was a site very well done and impressive. i don't think he would have write a text like if he was on msn...


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## ascoltate

"rather" at the beginning of the sentence is a somewhat formal style, I would say. It is certainly absolutely correct. Of course, it would be weird to have it at the beginning of a _paragraph_, since it generally relates to the sentence or clause before. But whether it is separated from that clause by a semi-colon or a period is a stylistic consideration.


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## Bluebambi

I think in the context above it did work, and i can't think of any reason against starting the sentence with "rather" in this context. However i would probably have preferred to use a semi-colon.


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