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I want to express there are two things with unique characteristics. I know it's an oxymoron, so I'll be glad if you suggest me a better formulation. I would express it either like:

a) Christianity, Islam and Buddhism are three of the few religions which draw from the older religions.

b) Christianity, Islam and Buddhism are ones of the few religions which draw from the older religions.

c) Christianity, Islam and Buddhism are some of the few religions which draw from the older religions.

The sentences are just examples that popped in my mind.

Probably
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    Any number of things can have unique characteristics; there is no oxymoron in your first statement. Of your three sentences, the first and third are at least grammatical in English. (You are talking about three things, not two, and "gladder" is not a word in English.) – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Aug 02 '17 at 09:19
  • @P.E.Dant Funny, Grammarly suggested me "gladder" instead of "more glad". The examples are just examples. Please edit, if you see anything wrong. – Probably Aug 02 '17 at 10:42
  • @P.E.Dant, apparently 'gladder' is a word in English. However, it is rarely used in the modern day literature. Here is the Ngram to show the word's decline in usage, and perhaps the reason why most of us are unaware of its existance. – Varun Nair Aug 02 '17 at 11:32
  • one of the few is a common collocation, but two, three, n of the few would be an oddity. – TimR Aug 02 '17 at 12:52
  • @P.E.Dant, several things can have unique characteristics. But they can't all have the same unique characteristic. (OP: you could say the characteristic is rare or uncommon rather than unique) – The Photon Aug 02 '17 at 14:53
  • Ah, I might have known. Grammar checkers like Grammarly are not useful, as this example illustrates. Read our Canonical Post on Grammer Checkers! – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Aug 02 '17 at 20:13

2 Answers2

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one of the few is a common collocation, but two, three, n of the few would be an oddity.

The typical way of handling this situation is not to bother counting, but to say something like:

Of the few X's that blah blah blah, A and B yadda yadda yadda.

Of the few X's that blah blah blah, A, B, and C yadda yadda yadda.

TimR
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  • Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by that. How can I apply that to my sentence? – Probably Aug 02 '17 at 12:57
  • Of the few religions, which draw from the older religions, there are Christianity, Islam and Buddhism? – Probably Aug 02 '17 at 12:58
  • Of the few religions which draw from the older religions, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism {have the most adherents}. { } is some meaningful predicate that goes beyond stating the fact that they belong to a qualified set. – TimR Aug 02 '17 at 13:03
  • If all you want to do is state the fact that A, B, and C belong to a qualified set that contains only a few members:. There are only a few religions which draw from older religions; three of them* are Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.* – TimR Aug 02 '17 at 13:05
  • Ok, sure, I see your point. – Probably Aug 02 '17 at 13:19
  • Masterful use of blah, but it might benefit from a yadda or, as my Mother was wont to say, "hamanah hamanah", which, as she was quick to admit, was purloined from The Great One. – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Aug 03 '17 at 04:03
  • @P. E. Dant. Constructive criticism much appreciated. – TimR Aug 03 '17 at 14:26
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" ... are among the few ..."

" ... are among the very few ... "

" ... are three of only a handful of ..."

" ... are unusual among religions in that they draw ..."

smatterer
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  • But smatterer is cheating with of only a handful :) The question is about few with a number greater than one. – TimR Aug 02 '17 at 13:08