no canto de / en vez de
Instead of: No Canto De
No canto de and en vez de both mean instead of: No canto de café, tomo té, En vez de protestar, axuda. En lugar de and en troques de mean the same.
How It Works
Four ways to say instead of
No canto de, en vez de, en lugar de and en troques de are all standard and mean the same. No canto de is especially common in Galician.
With a noun or a pronoun
- No canto de café, tomo té. (Instead of coffee, I have tea.)
- Onte, no canto do coche, collemos o tren. (Yesterday we took the train instead of the car.) Here de + o becomes do (see contractions with de).
- Veu Xoán no canto dela. (Xoán came instead of her.) De + ela becomes dela (see contractions with pronouns).
With an infinitive
- En vez de protestar, axuda. (Instead of complaining, help.)
- When the infinitive has a different subject from the main verb, give it a person ending: No canto de cociñares ti, hoxe cociño eu (Instead of you cooking, today I will cook). See the personal infinitive.
Do not mix it up with en canto
En canto means as soon as (see en canto). In the sense of instead of, canto always comes after no (en + o): no canto de.
Compare senón
To correct a negative statement, use senón: Non tomo café senón té. No canto de presents the swap as a choice: No canto de café, tomo té.
Examples (6)
- No canto de café, tomo té.
Instead of coffee, I have tea.
- En vez de protestar, axuda.
Instead of complaining, help.
En vez de works the same way as no canto de, here before an infinitive.
- Onte, no canto do coche, collemos o tren.
Yesterday we took the train instead of the car.
De + o contracts to do.
- Veu Xoán no canto dela.
Xoán came instead of her.
De + ela contracts to dela.
- No canto de cociñares ti, hoxe cociño eu.
Instead of you cooking, today I'll cook.
Cociñares has the ti ending because its subject is different from the main verb.
- En lugar de chamar, mandoume unha mensaxe.
Instead of calling, he sent me a message.
Common Mistakes
Leaving de and the article uncontracted.
No canto de o coche, collemos o tren.No canto do coche, collemos o tren.De joins a following article: de + o = do, de + a = da.
Mixing up no canto de with en canto.
En canto de café, tomo té.No canto de café, tomo té.En canto means as soon as. With canto, instead of is always no canto de, where no is en + o.
How It Connects
Learn This First
No canto de and en vez de introduce a replacement noun or action.
Related Patterns
- del / dela / nel / nelaContractions with Pronouns
Contractions of de with pronouns, as in no canto dela.
Level 2 - The Personal Infinitive
The personal infinitive used when the infinitive has its own subject: no canto de cociñares ti.
Level 3 - senónBut Rather: Senón
Another way to replace one option with another, after a negative.
Level 3 - en canto + SubjunctiveAs Soon as: En Canto
En canto means as soon as; do not confuse it with no canto de.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice no canto de / en vez de in Bubblegum
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