What would make you choose saying "rather" rather than "very/pretty..."? Is there an actual difference between these words?

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@_Miguel-R

It’s an excellent question. It’s a difficult thing to think about and describe, because it’s almost unconscious.

Some people would probably never say – rather. But if you go to England, you’ll hear it quite a lot.

And that underlines the function of rather – it is more sober, more reasonable, less excitable.

He is very good at hockey
He’s rather good at hockey

Rather is telling us that he is definitely good, but we are not going to make any extreme claims. He’s not the best, we are not thrilled when we see him play – but you should definitely see him play with your own eyes, because he is actually good.

When I lived in America, I almost never heard people use – rather – in this way because to be completely honest, Americans are extremely loud and excitable people. They just don’t feel comfortable being guarded and sober about things.

But I was born somewhere else, and have lived in many places, so I use – rather – a lot. Or maybe I should say – I use it rather a lot.