Can you start a sentence with 'rather'?

Can you start a sentence with 'rather'?

Well... Rather than guess the answer, read on for some helpful insights to a question which has stumped some of the world's greatest minds. And has been the subject of dozens of blog posts in the English language! 

<Spoiler alert: the answer is a resounding YES!>

It's an interesting question but the fact of the matter is there has never been any rule stopping you from starting a sentence with rather.

Rather you have always been free to use it at the beginning of sentences if you wish. But as we shall get into, there can be a certain degree of pompousness that comes across when you do.

What is the Definition of 'Rather'

Before we really really dive deeper into the question of whether a sentence can start with the word "rather", it is important that we agree to a few parameters under which we will work. Rules, if you will. 

First of all, we need to share an understanding of the definitions of the word "rather."

Depending on who you ask, or which books of language you read, you might get a different answer, but it is very likely that all of the answers are correct. 

Rather as a degree adverb

The word "rather" can be used to emphasize an adjective or adverb, often with a similar meaning (though more formal tone) as the word "quite."

For example, if one is attending tea at Buckingham Palace with the Queen, one might compliment the crumpets as tasting "rather delicious." 

The Queen would be overjoyed, and you would be given a knighthood on the spot.

The people of Jolly Old England would celebrate for a fortnight (fancy English meaning two weeks). And school-aged children would be particularly grateful because schools would close so families could indulge in the festivities. And you would become a famous example of a humble chap who achieved greatness, and not just among academic communities.

Rather to signify alternatives and preferences

When we want to say what someone prefers instead of another thing, we can use "rather than" to signify an alternative.

For example, if we have two things and a person likes one better than another, then we might say either:

• She preferred tea to coffee.

Or we could write this previous sentence using rather:

• She preferred coffee rather than tea.

Using Rather in Formal Writing

From the description above, you can see that 'rather' often has a formal connotation. This means that you would use it in such writing as an essay, a journal article, or a letter to the Queen. 

If you were to write a letter to the Queen, you could use the word rather to describe your strong feelings for her. You could write for example that:

"Ever since I first laid eyes on your Highness, I was rather overwhelmed by the feelings of passion that stirred within my heart."

Using Rather in Informal Writing

'Rather' can also find its way into informal writing.

For example, if we were typing a way on a messenger app and someone asked you a question like "Would you rather eat ten ice cream sundaes or ten cheeseburgers?"

You could answer incredulously "Rather what???" 

The person would then repeat the question and you would have time to choose the answer that suits your personality best. 

And when we want to emphasize the adjectives of our sentences, we can add "rather" before them. This means that they have greater importance and/or strength than other parts of speech in the sentence.

"The Queen looked rather ravishing at the 7th edition of the Governor's Ball, don't you agree?"

Rather can have a similar meaning to "quite" when quite is used with gradable words, but "rather" is more formal.

We often use it to express something unexpected or surprising: 

Sound like fun?

"Rather!"

Rather Good Examples

So now that we know what rather means, let's look at how we can use it correctly to start a sentence by creating a couple of examples.

Here's a meaningful sentence or two or three from a somewhat limited field for your reference:

• "Rather fat, that old charlatan," chortled Cornelius as he sipped brandy by the fireplace and flipped through the 3rd edition of the Penguin Book of Prose. 

• The Queen doesn't just fall in love with anyone. Rather, she falls in love with charming gentle sirs like yourself. 

• Rather than worry about it, take a deep breath and test it out. You might be surprised with the results. 

And so, ladies and gentlemen, those previous sentences bring our happy article to a merry conclusion.

We set out to answer the question of whether a sentence can start with the word "rather" and I believe we have achieved just that.

Using rather more often can be great to flesh out any academic sentence in your academic writing (your academic cover letter for example). You can also put a comma before or after but.

Depending on your copyediting preferences, it can also be used in your blog posts.

In short, sprinkling a 'rather' or two into a sentence can be a great hack if you merely desire to sound more intelligent than you are.

Keep this in mind when you're adding more book content to the fascinating book you are writing.

Give it a try. Who knows, you might find that using the word "rather" to set things off might just be your ticket to stardom!