Difference Between Number and Amount

Number vs Amount

There are several ways to denote the quantity of an object, and it is divided in terms of magnitude (for continuous and non-collective nouns such as the universe and matter) and multitude (for discontinuous and collective nouns such as amount and number).

A number is used to refer to anything that can be counted. For example: “A number of people went to town to see the parade.” It is also used to refer to items that are individual which are treated as a unit or which are a collection of units. For example: “The truck carries a number of cars for transport to another city.” It is used before plural nouns that are countable. Any item, whether big or small, many or few, inert or active, alive or not, consists of numbers. They can be counted individually or in groups and, therefore, can be referred to in terms of numbers.

Examples for its use in a sentence:
“The number ten is my favorite.”
“License plate numbers consist of numbers as well as letters.”
“There are a number of people waiting for the store to open.”

The word “number” comes from the Anglo French word “noumbre” which means “sum” or “aggregate of a collection.” It in turn came from the Old French word “nombre” which was derived from the Latin word “numerous” which means quantity. Its first known use in the English language was during the 14th century.

The word “amount,” on the other hand, comes from the Old French word “amonter” which means “upward,” from the Latin words “ad” which means “to” and “montem” which means “mountain.” Together it means “to rise in number.” Its first known use was during the 14th century.

It is used to refer to objects or nouns that cannot be counted such as feelings, impressions, and intentions. While the word “number” is used before plural nouns, the word “amount” is used before singular words or items. It is used to refer to things in bulk and also to be equivalent to something in terms of quality, status, and characteristics.

Examples are:
“He works hard so to prove to everyone that he can amount to something even though he is physically handicapped.”
“The amount of respect that the students have shown me was more than I expected.”
“No words can express the gratitude I felt for the endless amount of love and support that my family has given me.”

Summary:

1.The word “number” is used to refer to things or nouns that can be counted while the word “amount” is used to refer to things or nouns that cannot be counted.
2.“Number” is used when referring to individual items or those that are treated as a unit while “amount” is used to refer to items in bulk.
3.The word “number” is used before plural nouns while the word “amount” is used before singular nouns.
4.The word “number” comes from the Anglo French word “noumbre” while the word “amount” comes from the Old French word “amonter.”

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