Brandy Balls Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
"Amount of" or "Number"?
I'm conflicted on the use of "amount of" or "number of", or even if I should be conflicted at all.
This is especially with regard to atoms in the current chemistry chapter I'm doing, where the author uses, "The volume of a gas is proportional to the amount of atoms in it", and "This gives us a way of measuring a large amount of atoms". Wouldn't it be better to say "number" since atoms consitute individual elements of a whole (like, 'the number of bricks'), while amount refers to a quantity like, 'the amount of money in one's bank account'?
Are there any guidelines when it comes to "amount of" or "number of"?
This is especially with regard to atoms in the current chemistry chapter I'm doing, where the author uses, "The volume of a gas is proportional to the amount of atoms in it", and "This gives us a way of measuring a large amount of atoms". Wouldn't it be better to say "number" since atoms consitute individual elements of a whole (like, 'the number of bricks'), while amount refers to a quantity like, 'the amount of money in one's bank account'?
Are there any guidelines when it comes to "amount of" or "number of"?
Top answer
You are right: number is for countable nouns and amount is for uncountable nouns. However informally, many use amount for the former, especially when they are envisioning a single quantity.
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You are right: number is for countable nouns and amount is for uncountable nouns. However informally, many use amount for the former, especially when they are envisioning a single quantity.
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