|
|
| |
Topic: Amount and number |
26 December 2002 |
We usually get confused about the words amount
and number since they both tell the quantity of something.
However, you should not forget that in English the nouns are classified as
countable and uncountable nouns.
The countable nouns are, for example, apples, students, houses, cars, songs, and books.
The examples of uncountable nouns are happiness, rice, coffee, money, water and milk.
We use the amount of with uncountable nouns while
the number of is used with countable nouns in the plural form.
For example:
The number of people coming to work in Bangkok increases every year.
The number of students is limited in each class.
We should be concerned about the amount of money we spend on hospital bills.
Everyone gets a fair amount of work done.
Another pair that often causes confusion is the number of
and a number of. Both of them are used with
countable nouns in the plural form, but they have different meanings
and are used with different verb forms in present simple tense.
A number of means many. It's considered plural;
therefore, it is followed by verb without an -s in present simple tense.
The number of is considered a third person singular
and the verb in present simple tense requires an -s.
The number of people
working in Bangkok increases every year.
A number of people come to Bangkok to work after the harvest season.
The number of students is limited in each class.
A number of students are absent today.
Note :
The number of + countable nouns (plural)
The/ an amount of + uncountable nouns
A number of + plural nouns + verb
The number of + plural nouns + verb +-s (in present simple tense)
|
|
Exercise: Amount or Number |
| Directions : |
 1.You have got __________ letters in the mailbox.
|
| 2.__________ spam on the Internet is increasing greatly. |
| 3.Your body needs ___ minimum __________ water each day. |
| 4.__________ books you read should not matter as much as the quality of books you read. |
| 5.__________ hairdressers are gay. |
| 6.__________ money I have in the bank is decreasing. |
| 7.__________ people on the planet is about 6 billion. |
| 8.We keep __________ records on file. |
|
Answers |
| |
|
|
