Instead and Instead of – Grammar Shorts

Instead & Instead of – Grammar Shorts

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The terms instead and instead of are often confusing for learners of English. In this lesson, you will learn how to use them correctly.

Instead

Instead is an adverb meaning ‘alternatively’ or ‘as an alternative.’ We can use it at the beginning or at the end of a clause, though it is normally used at the end.

As we had run out of coffee, I had a cup of tea instead.
We didn’t go to the beach. We went to the waterpark instead.

When used at the beginning of a sentence, instead must be followed by a comma.

I don’t drink coffee. Instead, I drink tea.
I didn’t have a sandwich for lunch. Instead, I had soup.

Instead of

Instead of is a preposition meaning ‘in place of,’ and we can use it at the start or in the middle of a sentence. We use instead of in the following ways:

Before a noun

I sweetened the porridge with honey instead of sugar.
Nowadays, I drink red wine instead of beer.

Before a pronoun

I’ll use yours instead of mine.
As I was ill, Jan went to the conference instead of me.

Before a name (person, city, country, etc.)

I’m staying with John instead of Mary.
I chose to work with Fred instead of Mike.

Before a gerund (verb + -ing)

Instead of eating indoors, we decided to eat in the garden.
Instead of walking, I’m taking the bus.

Common Mistakes

It’s important to remember that instead and instead of are not interchangeable.

Instead is used alone and usually comes at the end of a sentence.
- I didn’t want coffee. I had tea instead.
- She was too tired to walk, so she took the bus instead.
Instead of must be followed by a noun, pronoun, or gerund (a verb ending in -ing).
- I had tea instead of coffee.
- She took the bus instead of walking.

Using these correctly will make your sentences clearer and more natural.

Take this quiz to check what you know!

Rewrite the sentences using instead or instead of.

1 I had cereal and not toast. (instead of) ⇒ , I had cereal.

2 I don't drink dairy milk. I drink soy milk as an alternative. (instead) ⇒ I don't drink dairy milk. .

3 We didn't go to the cinema and went bowling. (instead of) ⇒ , we went bowling.

4 I made the dish with tuna in place of salmon. (instead of) ⇒ I made .

5 The buses were full, so I took a train as an alternative. (instead) ⇒ The buses were all full, so .

6 Sam didn't come to the meeting. Alice came in his place. (instead of) ⇒ Alice .

7 We didn't watch the film at the cinema. We watched it at home. (instead) ⇒ We didn’t watch the film at the cinema. .

8 We didn't eat out. We decided to order a takeaway. (instead of) ⇒ , we decided to order a takeaway.

9 We're not going abroad. We’re going camping. (instead) ⇒ We're not going abroad. .

10 The recipe says you can replace the cream with yogurt. (instead of) ⇒ The recipe says you can use .

Explanation

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