Kdaj uporabimo katero obliko?

1. Amount of označuje količino stvari, ki jih ne moremo izmeriti ali prešteti. Stoji pred neštevnimi, abstrakstnimi pojmi, kot so work, love, hate, stress, patience, help…

• Some say you need a certain amount of stress to perform your best at work.
• The amount of love you have for someone seems to always be greater than the amount of pain they give you.

2. Quantity of/quantities of označuje količino stvari, ki jih lahko izmerimo. Stoji pred neštevnimi samostalniki, ki so lahko živi ali abstraktni pojmi.

• He borrowed large quantities of money from his brother to buy a new car.
• They have found large quantities of gas beneath the North Sea.

V vsakdanjem pogovoru pa se fraza quantity of vse pogosteje uporablja tudi pred števnimi samostalniki v množini.

• What quantity of vegetables do we need for the picnic?
• You can find a large quantity of interesting books in the bookstore.

3. Number of stoji pred števnimi samostalniki v množini in označuje precejšnje število živih ali neživih stvari.

• A large number of people were waiting in front of the concert hall.
• I have told you a number of times not to do that.
• There are a number of reasons why I can’t move abroad for a job.