quantity的含义及用法

quantity：英 [ˈkwɒntəti] 美 [ˈkwɑ:ntəti]

n.量，数量; 定量，大批; 数目; [语音学、韵律学] (指元音或音节的长短) 音量;

[例句]He had quantity and quality!

他既有数量,又有数量!

a large quantity of 和large quantities of的用法区别

quantities of无论修饰可数还是不可数名词、谓语动词都用复数.

例如:

Quantities of food (nuts) were on the table.桌子上有许多食品(坚果).

a quantity of+可数名词复数、谓语动词用复数;+不可数名词、谓语动词用单数.即修饰可数或不可数名词均可,作主语时采取就近一致的原则,其谓语动词通常与短语中of后面的名词的数保持一致.

例如:

A large quantity of beer was sold out.大量的啤酒被售出.

A large quantity of blouses were on sale.大量罩衫有售.

an amount of, a number of和a quantity of之间的用法有何不同?

1. A large amount of chickens were infected with the H5N1 strain of the bird flu.

2. A large number of chickens were infected with the H5N1 strain of the bird flu.

3. A large quantity of chickens were infected with the H5N1 strain of the bird flu. (山东济宁 王 慧)

【答】 上面三句只有第2句讲得通，第1句和第3句都是错误的。请看下面的说明：

an amount of通常与不可数、无生命的名词连用。如：

She spent a very large amount of money yesterday. 她昨天花了好大一笔钱。

a number of与可数、有生命或无生命的名词连用。如：

The president has made a large number of mistakes. 总统已犯了许多错误。

a quantity of通常与可数或不可数、无生命的名词连用。如：

A vast / large quantity of imported beer has been sold. 已经售出了大量的进口啤酒。

再者，从上面的例句可知，amount, number和quantity的前面经常使用vast, large, small 等表示数量大小的形容词来修饰，而这些形容词前面有时还会使用very等程度副词来修饰。不过，要特别注意的是，在这些用法中，large不可用big 来替代。