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Old 05-Jun-2003, 15:57
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Default Re: Question of 'amount of' & 'number of'

Quote:
Originally Posted by maktau
Q1 : As far as I remember, 'amount of' is usually used with uncountable whilst 'number of' is used for plural. Is it correct?

Q2 : In what situation, the 'amount' should be added with 's'?
ex. Large amounts of money were spent. &
He has attracted an enormous amount of public sympathy.

Q3 : which of the following sentences is correct?
Large numbers of vehicles had been towed.
A large number of vehicles had been towed.

I should be most grateful if any persons could teach me!
You have got it right. We use "amount of" or "amounts of" before uncountable nouns. We use "number of" or "numbers of" before countable nouns. Whether or not we pluralize "number" or "amount" depends on the sense of the sentence, but there is little difference between "a large amount of money" and "large amounts of money" or "a large number of vehicles" and "large numbers of vehicles".
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