instead

«instead» in Mova's school dictionary: in place of something else: We had no milk, so we drank… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adverb (instead; instead of)

meaning for a pupil

1) Instead means in place of something else: We had no milk, so we drank water instead. tree →

2) «Instead of» comes before the thing that is replaced: tea instead of coffee. tree →

sense in the lessons

a different first step in an imagined scene («What if at the start I had put two pears instead?»); the problem must be worked out again with the new number; in everyday life choosing one thing in place of another; in stories a plan changes

examples

• What if at the start I had put two pears instead of what I put? tree →
• Ali bought 5 pens instead of 3. tree →
• Instead of 4 boxes, there are 6. tree →
• It was raining, so we played inside instead. tree →
• Can I have juice instead of milk? tree →
• Walk instead of running in the corridor. tree →
• Instead of crying, she laughed. tree →
• Use a pencil instead of a pen. tree →
• It made Peter kick instead of stab. tree →

note

Replace one step and work the scene out again. Trap: «5 pens instead of 3» means 5 pens, not 5 + 3. «Instead» usually goes at the end of a sentence; «instead of» before a noun or an -ing verb.

In the corpora

• Then they choose the cheap fun: a picnic and a library trip instead of the cinema.
• Grown-ups often say "we're expecting" instead of "pregnant".
• Newcomers are busy and tired; the friendly thing is to say hello first instead of deciding they are «stuck up».
• If someone stops coming to something, ask how they are instead of deciding they have fallen out with you.
• If you are really worried about a child being unsafe, tell a trusted adult instead of turning it into gossip.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «instead» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.