Instead of means in place of. It shows that one option was chosen rather than another. You can replace a thing (tea instead of coffee) or an action (walk instead of taking the bus).
Want to use instead of in conversation?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
instead of + noun/-ing; instead (at the end of a sentence)
- Let's have the meeting online instead of driving to the office in this weather.
- I took the train instead of flying and saved almost half the money.
- Could I have a salad instead of chips with the fish?
What changed
First versionInstead of to take a taxi, we walked to the hotel.
RevisionInstead of taking a taxi, we walked to the hotel.
To take can seem natural after instead of, but after of a verb always takes the -ing form. So the correct version is instead of taking.
Instead without of goes at the end of a sentence when the thing being replaced has already been mentioned: The café was closed, so we had lunch at home instead. If you name what you are replacing right there, you need instead of: lunch at home instead of the café.
Your turn
The printer wasn't working, so I sent the document by email ___.
Show the answer
instead — The broken printer has already been mentioned in the first part, and the sentence ends after the gap. So you need instead without of. Instead of needs something after it: instead of printing it.
Write about a habit you recently replaced with another one. Say what you do now and what you used to do.
Now I listen to English podcasts on my way to work instead of scrolling through social media, which I did for years.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.