amount和number的区别:a number of+可数名词复数,谓语用复数;the number of+可数名词复数,谓语用单数;an amount of+不可数名词,谓语用单数;the amount of+不可数名词,谓语用单数。
①所能修饰的名词有区别
a large number of只可以修饰可数名词复数形式;a large amount of修饰不可数名词。
例句:I have a number of letters to write today.
今天我有好多信要写。
I spent a large amount of my time on this work.
我在这项工作上花了不少时间。
②谓语动词的形式有区别
a large number of 修饰的词作主语时谓语用复数形式;a large amount of 修饰的词作主语时谓语用单数形式。
例句:A large number of books are missing from the library.
图书馆的许多书不见了。
A large amount of damage was done in a short time.
短期内造成大量损害。
注意:The number of的意思是“...的数量”,修饰的可数名词作主语时谓语用单数形式;amounts of的意思是“大量的”,修饰的不可数名词作主语时谓语用复数形式,即谓语的数取决于 amount 的数。
这一对词都能用作名词和动词,又都表示“数目”、“总数”之意,故很易混淆。
它们之间的区别是,amount用于不可数名词,表示“量”; number用于可数名词,表示“数”。例:
He has contributed a considerable amount of money to the Chinese University of Hong Kong.(amount为名词)
他捐了一笔为数可观的钱给香港中文大学。
Our expenditure amounts to fifty thousand dollars a month.(amount为动词)
我们每月的开支达五万元。
Every year the Hong Kong Book Fair draws a large number of visitors.(number为名词)
每一年香港的书展吸引了大量的观众。