Number and frequency

Frequency

• Widespread [existing or happening in many places or among many people] collocates strongly with a lot of words relating to either attitude (widespread interest, widespread support) or problems (widespread damage, widespread poverty):
  There has been widespread support for the government’s new policy on education.
  The heavy winds at the weekend have caused widespread damage.
• Rare [infrequent and special] collocates with things in the natural world (rare disease, rare bird, rare species) and also with collectable items of special interest (rare coins).
• If someone repeatedly does something that annoys you, you can use the expression keeps asking, keeps interrupting, keeps hitting, etc. This is common in informal spoken English:
  Please don’t keep interrupting me when I’m trying to work.
  The children keep asking me when we’re going to buy a new computer.
• Constant and continual also convey the idea of something happening repeatedly:
  I couldn’t get on with my work today because of constant interruptions – the phone kept ringing every five minutes.
  It was a mistake to go on holiday with them. Their continual complaining drove us mad.