1．rather可修饰象ugly, dirty之类的贬义形容词、副词。例如：
　　(1) His hands are rather dirty.
　　(2) He is a rather ugly man.

　　2．rather也可以修饰褒义的形容词、副词，其含义相当于very。例如：
　　(1) This picture is rather fine, isn't it?
　　(2) He runs rather fast.

　　3．rather还可修动词或过去分词，其意思是“有点儿”。例如：
　　(1) We rather like the smell.
　　(2) I felt rather tired.

　　4．rather与too连用时，表示“稍微……一点”修饰形容词或副词。例如：
　　(1) The book is rather too difficult.

　　5．rather修饰名词前的形容词时，放在不定冠词前后均可；若无形容词，rather应放在不定冠词前面。例如：
　　(1) It's a rather hot day. = It's rather a hot day.
　　(2) The girl is rather a fool.

　　6．would rather相当于情态动词词组，表示“宁愿”、“宁可”，强调主观意愿或看法。
　　1）Sb. would rather＋动词原形＋……“某人宁愿……”表示现在或将来的动作。例如： I would rather have tea.
　　2) sb would rather+have＋过去分词＋…… 表示过去未曾实现的意愿。常译为“某人本来想……”。例如： I would rather have visited you on the 10th, but I didn't visit you until 15th.
　　3) sb.would rather not+动词原形＋…… 表示不愿做某事。常译为“某人不愿……”例如： They would rather not stay at home.
　　4) sb. would rather+(that)+sb+谓语＋…… 连接从句的that可省略，从句中谓语动词用虚拟语气形式。指现在用过去式；指过去用过去完成式；指将来用过去式，原形动词或should +动词原形。例如：
　　(1) I would rather that you left now.
　　(2) He would rather you had done that.
　　(3) I would rather he came tomorrow.
　　(4) We would rather you should take us to the station.
　　5) sb.would rather +动词原形＋than +动词原形 常译为“某人宁可做……也不愿做……”。强调现在或将来的选择行为。例如：
　　(1) They would rather die than yield.
　　(2) I would rather play football than baseball.
　　6) sb.+ would rather + have + 过去分词＋than +过去分词。 强调某人对过去的行为选择。例如： He would rather have slept than studied yesterday.
　　7) rather与than连用时，其作用相当于连词，通常用于平行结构里。常译为“与其说……不如说……”；“不是……而是……”。例如： She is a teacher rather than an arlist.
　　8) rather可用于prefer之后，构成句型：sb. preferto + do+ sth+ rather than　+动词原形，常译为“宁愿……而不愿……”例如： We prefer to stay at home rather than go with you.