student asking question

Can I replace "rather" to "very"? What is the difference in nuance between two?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Rather" in this case is similar to the words "fairly" or "somewhat". You could replace it with "very", as it has a similar meaning, however "very" is a little bit stronger here than "rather". "Rather unusual" is also a little more polite than saying "very unusual". Even though "rather unusual" can mean the same thing as "very unusual", "rather" implies that it is not too unusual, just a little bit. The word "very" doesn't conceal anything, and so saying "very unusual" would be a little less polite in this case. Ex: He is rather quiet. Ex: He is very quiet. In the above example, both sentences express that he is a quiet person. The first, however, is less strong and sounds more polite than using "very" in the second.

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