به جای
In Place of with به جای
Before a whole action, say به جای اینکه and use the subjunctive.
How It Works
جای means "place", so به جای means "in the place of". It names what the other thing replaces.
| Before | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a noun | به جای بس، با بایسکل به دفتر می‌روم. | In place of the bus, I go to the office by bicycle. |
| a person | به جای من، برادرم به جلسه می‌رود. | My brother goes to the meeting in my place. |
| an infinitive | به جای خوابیدن، کمی قدم بزن. | Take a short walk in place of sleeping. |
| a clause | به جای اینکه تنها بروی، با ما بیا. | Come with us in place of going alone. |
Before a whole clause, add اینکه and use the present subjunctive: به جای اینکه بخوابی. A verb with a person ending cannot follow به جای without اینکه.
With a person, you can put the pronoun after جای or add an ending to جای: به جای او or به جایش (in her place).
The به جای phrase can open the sentence, and a comma follows it: به جای من، برادرم به جلسه می‌رود. It can also follow the subject: مریم به جای معلم در صنف درس داد.
Examples (5)
- به جای بس، با بایسکل به دفتر می‌روم.
In place of the bus, I go to the office by bicycle.
بس (bus) is the thing that the bicycle replaces.
- به جای من، برادرم به جلسه می‌رود.
My brother is going to the meeting in my place.
به جای من names the person who is replaced.
- به جای خوابیدن، کمی قدم بزن.
In place of sleeping, take a short walk.
خوابیدن is an infinitive, and the command follows after a comma.
- به جای اینکه تنها بروی، با ما بیا.
In place of going alone, come with us.
اینکه and the subjunctive بروی join به جای to a whole action.
- مریم به جای معلم در صنف درس داد.
Maryam taught the class in the teacher's place.
معلم is the person whom Maryam replaced, and the phrase follows the subject.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out اینکه before a verb with a person ending.
به جای بخوابی، کار کن.به جای اینکه بخوابی، کار کن.Before a verb with a person ending, به جای needs اینکه.
How It Connects
Learn This First
به جای works like the small words.
Related Patterns
- بدون اینکهWithout Doing
بدون اینکه also takes اینکه and the subjunctive, for an action that is left out.
Level 4 - The Present Subjunctive
The verb after به جای اینکه is the present subjunctive.
Level 3 - Infinitives and Past Stems
به جای can take an infinitive such as خوابیدن.
Level 2 - قبل از اینکهBefore Something Happens
قبل از اینکه also joins a whole action with اینکه.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice به جای in Bubblegum
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