number

a number of, the number of

两者意思不同:a number of的意思是“许多”,相当于many; the number of的意思是“数目”,不能作修饰语。

a number of, an amount of

这两个词都表示“数量”。它们的区别在于:前者表示“数”,与复数名词或代词连用; 而后者表示“量”,与不可数名词连用。例如:

A small number of people believe in ghosts.只有少数人相信有鬼。

A large amount of money was spent on books.一大笔钱花在了购买图书上。

a number of, a great deal of, a lot of, lots of, many, many a, much

这组词(组)都表示“许多”的意思。它们的区别在于:many是普通用语,其后只能接可数名词复数; many a是书面用语,后接单数可数名词,当修饰主语时谓语动词要用单数形式; much是普通用语,是对量和程度而言的,只能修饰不可数名词; a number of可用来修可数名词复数; a lot of和lots of既可接可数名词,也可接不可数名词,多用于肯定句。a great deal of后接不可数名词,谓语动词用单数,且常用于肯定句中。例如:

Man and the ape have many things in common.人和猿有许多共同之处。

Many a man comes or goes.一个又一个的人来来去去。

A number of people came to the meeting from all over the world.来自世界各地的许多人参加了这次会议。

A lot of friends are thinking of emigrating.许多朋友正在考虑移民国外。

There are lots of antiques shops in Australia now.现在澳大利亚有许许多多的古玩店。

She's earned a great deal of money in the last few weeks.在最近几个星期内,她挣了大量的钱。