Can より be used differently than saying “b more x than a”?

Question

I could not find any examples of this usage, but what I'm basically asking is whether or not this is possible:

怒るより悲しいですよ

Rather than being mad, I am sad

Is this a legitimate way of using より?

Answer 1

It is a legitimate way of using より, but not a legitimate way of using 怒る ;) (If I understand you correctly, that is.)

For 怒る, you want to express a state, which you should do with the ~ている form. That is,

怒ってるより悲しいんです

(Inserting the explanatory ん makes it sound a little better...)

より works best though, if you use two constructions, which are the same, e.g.

怒ってるより、苦しんでいます

Other variations on the same theme:

怒ってるというより、悲しいんですよ
怒ってるんじゃなくて、悲しいんですよ
怒ってるというか、悲しいんですよ