Use of some adverbs

Dear Dr English,

I would like to ask you to explain how these English words are used in a sentence: rather, yet, besides and instead.

Znaung

"Rather" is an adverb, which means it always appears with a verb or an adjective. It indicates "to a certain extent". On its own, the word does not have much meaning, but it is used in a sentence to reduce the force of a criticism or avoid making a statement too direct, making it seem more polite.
David behaved rather badly at the press conference.
"I'm sorry. I'm rather busy right now, Tom. Can I call you back in half an hour?"

In a sentence, "rather" can appear in front of an adjective or an adverb, but it can also be in front of a singular noun group, as in the following:
John looked rather tired.
She was bitten rather badly by a stray dog.
Vicky is a rather assertive young girl.

When somebody says they would rather do something, they mean they would prefer to do it. In this case, we use the infinitive without "to" after "rather".
I'd rather stay home.
If I can't get an allowance for doing fieldwork in Chiang Mai, I'd rather stay in Bangkok and work in the office.

Another structure is "would rather" followed by a clause. It means a person would prefer something to happen or be done. We use simple past tense in the clause.
"Can I make just one more phone call before boarding the plane?" "I'd rather you didn't. We're already very late."

"Besides", a preposition, means "in addition to" or "as well as".
Mary can speak French and English besides German.

"Besides" can be used to introduce a non-finite clause beginning with an "-ing" form.
She works as a freelance translator and tour guide besides teaching English in a primary school.

"Besides" can also be used when we want to make an additional point or give an additional reason that we think is important.
If you take the whole week off, who will take care of the factory? Besides, the inspector will come to check on the safety measures next week.
(to be continued next week.)

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