What's the difference between amount / number / quantity 有什麼不一樣​?​

小測驗 Quiz:
We provide a discount of 30% on ____ of not less than 200.​
(A) quantities​
(B) numbers​
(C) amounts​

​解答 Answer

We provide a discount of 30% on quantities of not less than 200. ​
66% of people got it wrong.​
只有 34% 的人答對。​

文法解說 Grammatical Elaborations​: amount

amount + uncountable nouns 不可數名詞​

a/the adj + amount of + U.noun ​

amounts of + U.noun ​

​範例 e.g.​

・She eats an unbelievable amount of food.​
・They didn't deliver the right amount of sand.​
・He paid regular amounts of money to a charity.​

​文法解說 Grammatical Elaborations​: number

number + intangible statistics 摸不著的數據​

a + number of + N. + plural verb​

the + number of + N. + singular verb​

後面不一定要加動詞，但如果有的話，就照上面的規則。It's optional to add a verb behind, but if there's a verb, then use the rule above. ?​

​​範例 e.g.​

・A large number of schemes have been demonstrated.​
・A number of issues were discussed.​
・The number of injuries was unclear.​
・The number of cases is still rising.​

​​文法解說 Grammatical Elaborations​: quantity

quantity + specific stuff 具體物品​

​quantities of + N. + plural verb ​

​・Police found a small quantity of drugs in his possession.​
・A large quantity of clothing was stolen from the shop.​
・The quantity of food in the depot is overwhelming.​
・Computers can handle vast quantities of data.​
・Vast quantities of plastics are accumulating in the oceans.​