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# 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#m1)

2) «Instead of» comes before the thing that is replaced: tea instead of coffee. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#m2)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#x1)
- Ali bought 5 pens instead of 3. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#x2)
- Instead of 4 boxes, there are 6. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#x3)
- It was raining, so we played inside instead. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#x4)
- Can I have juice instead of milk? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#x5)
- Walk instead of running in the corridor. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#x6)
- Instead of crying, she laughed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#x7)
- Use a pencil instead of a pen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#x8)
- It made Peter kick instead of stab. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/#x9)

### 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.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/6/)
- [Grown-ups often say "we're expecting" instead of "pregnant".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/18-were-having-a-baby/1/)
- [Newcomers are busy and tired; the friendly thing is to say hello first instead of deciding they are «stuck up».](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/41-our-street-who-parked-where-and-who-won-what/25/)
- [If someone stops coming to something, ask how they are instead of deciding they have fallen out with you.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/42-our-street-feuds-newcomers-and-stories-that-grow/14/)
- [If you are really worried about a child being unsafe, tell a trusted adult instead of turning it into gossip.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/43-our-street-when-a-guess-becomes-a-reputation/21/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «instead» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/instead/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.