Language Link - unusual, strange, rare, unique

In the last post I used the words unusual, strange, rare, and unique.  Let's take a closer look at these words.  They all are adjectives or describing words that mean something that is not common or something that does not happen everyday.  

Unusual or strange can also mean something that is odd or different.

Something that is rare is not common because it doesn't happen often.  You can also say it happens infrequently.

And unique is used for things that are one of a kind.  Although earthquakes are not unique, it was a once in a lifetime happening for me.  (At least so far in my life it has only happened once!)

Which brings me to my last grammar point - the word unique is an absolute and grammar rules say that  it can not be modified. You can not say that something is more unique or very unique because the word means one of a kind. However, this rule is often broken in everyday English.