En lugar de

En lugar de
 

To translate en lugar de Pedro vinó Rita, I guess we say instead of, but my question is; can we use in the place of, too?
Does in the place of exist? to express opposition, like in Why don´t you use the metro in the place of your car.

"In the place of" might usually be better said "in place of". Like "Pedro
came in place of Rita.", or "Pedro came in Rita's place.", or "Pedro took Rita's place."

"...metro in place of your car" is grammatically correct, but would sound better as "...instead of your car", or "...rather than your car".

In place of = en lugar de

Instead of = en vez de

I didn't know the use of the phrase in place of.

Thank you Chileno for the contribution.

I didn't know "en vez de". Thanks also!:thumbsup:

Same... thanks :)