[Grammar] but rather too small for a family of four.

[yi-ing]

Hi,
I don't know what the grammatical role of "but rather" is. Is it a connector like "but" ?

Our aim was not to punish the rich, but rather to bring justice to the poor.
It was a nice house, but rather too small for a family of four.
Unlike red, this color is not aggressive, but rather suggests safety and vulnerability.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I consider 'but' and 'rather' to be a conjunction and an adverb respectively.

 

[sania-baharat]

I consider 'but' and 'rather' to be a conjunction and an adverb respectively.

Can we use "but rather" in the same way as we do adverbs like "especially, Particularly,..." ?

 

[Matthew Wai]

Do you think 'but rather' can replace 'especially/particularly' below?
Grammar is especially/particularly important in learning English.

 

[sania-baharat]

Do you think 'but rather' can replace 'especially/particularly' below?

I meant in terms of grammatical role not meaning.

 

[teechar]

No. Also note that "rather" in sentences 1 and 3 has a different meaning from that in sentence #2. Can you work out that difference?