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Anziché mangiare per noia, faccio una passeggiata.

Anziché mangiare per noia, faccio una passeggiata.
Instead of eating out of boredom, I take a walk.
From Lesson 259:Expressing alternatives (invece di, anziché)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Anziché mangiare per noia, faccio una passeggiata.

Why do we use the infinitive mangiare instead of a gerund for 'eating'?
In Italian, when expressing 'instead of doing something' with anziché (or invece di), you must use the infinitive form of the verb. Even though English uses the '-ing' form ('eating'), Italian strictly requires the infinitive mangiare.
Could I use invece di instead of anziché in this sentence?
Yes! Anziché and invece di are perfectly interchangeable in this context. You could say Invece di mangiare per noia... and the meaning would remain exactly the same.
Why is per used in the phrase per noia?
The preposition per is often used in Italian to indicate a cause or reason. While English uses the phrase 'out of boredom', Italian uses per to show that boredom is the underlying reason for the eating.
Why use faccio for 'I take' in faccio una passeggiata?
In Italian, you do not literally 'take' a walk. Instead, you use the verb fare (to do/make) in the fixed expression fare una passeggiata (to take a walk). Faccio is simply the 'I' form of this verb.

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