nouns and quantifiers

數量詞可為出現在其後的名詞提供特定資訊。可表達出某種事物的數量。
a number of 
hardly any
a significant amount of
a great deal of 

請注意下列的語法結構："a" + (形容詞) + "number of" + 複數可數名詞
"a number of" 表示 "many"，而 "a significant/considerable number of"表示 "very many"。這些片語只能和複數可數名詞一同使用。
quantifiers used with countable nouns
Q:
Were there any important changes to the contract?
A:
There were a number of changes.
There were considerable number of changes.
There were a significant number of changes.

"a great deal of" 和含有 "amount of" 的詞語只能與不可數名詞合用，表示大量的意思。
Quantifiers used with uncountable nouns
Q:
Do you think there is any risk in selling now?
A:
There is a great deal of risk in selling now.
There is a significant amount of risk in selling now.
There is a considerable amount of risk in selling now.

請注意，"hardly any" 在和複數可數名詞合用時表示 "very few" 之意，而在與不可數名詞合用時表示 "a very small amount of" 之意。
Quantifiers used with countable and uncountable nouns
There were hardly any managers at the meeting.
There were hardly any increase in production. 

NOUNS AND QUANTIFIERS Quantifiers give specific information about the quantity of the nouns they come before. Quantifiers Used with Plural Countable Nouns a number of a considerable number of a significant number of + countable noun There were a number of changes to the contract. There were a considerable number of problems with the report. A significant number of customers responded to the survey. Quantifiers Used with Uncountable Nouns a great deal of a significant amount of a considerable amount of + uncountable noun There is a great deal of risk in selling now. We had a significant amount of trouble reaching an agreement. There was a considerable amount of damage after the storm. Quantifiers Used with Countable and Uncountable Nouns hardly any + countable noun uncountable noun There were hardly any managers at the meeting. There was hardly any increase in production.