A great number of, A large number of, A number of

[Son Ho]

Could you distinguish these for me: A great number of/ A large number of/ A number of + N plural
I wonder if they are the same or not?
:lol:

 

[Rover_KE]

Please write two or three sentences of your own and we will comment on them.

 

[Son Ho]

1. A number of people study English nowadays.
2. A large number of schools open in October.

Because i seldom see " A great number of" instead of " A (large) number of", I would like to ask if three of them have the same meaning or not.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Could you distinguish these for me?: A great number of/ A large number of/ A number of + plural noun
I wonder if they are the same.

They mean the same thing:

- a lot of
- many
- quite a few

All are interchangeable. None has a specific number associated with it.

The adjectives large and great add emphasis but don't change the meaning.