英语中有许多词语可用来表示“许多”,根据性质可分为三大类. 1)修饰可数名词复数形式的有 many,a good/great many,quite a few,a large (或great)/small number of等,其后的谓语动词用复数形式.如: ①A great/good many words and expressions have come into the language from American English.美国英语中的许多单词和短语进入了这门语言. ②Many have come to visit the old temple.许多人来是为了看看古庙. ③Quite a few people didn\'t understand this.Very few would accept it. 有许多人不明白这一点.很少有人愿意接受. ④A great/small number of new factories have been set up in my hometown. 我们家乡建立了许多新的工厂. ▲many和few,a few在句中可作定语、主语,但不能作表语.如只能说I have many/few books,而不能说 My books are many/few. ▲very many相当于a great/good many,在程度上比many要强. ▲a number of修饰主语时,谓语动词用复数形式,the number of…作主语时,谓语动词用单数.如: ⑤A number of students have done the work well.许多学生作业做得很好. ⑥The number of the students in our school has risen this year. 今年我们学校学生的数量上升了. 句⑤的 A number of作定语修饰主语 students.句⑥的介语短语 of the students in our school作定语,修饰前面的主语 the number,表示特指,students 前的冠词the不能省. 2)修饰不可数名词的有much,a great deal of,quite a little,an amount of等.其后的谓语动词用单数形式.如: ①He has spent much/quite a little/a great deal of/a large amount of money on his new house.他在新房子上花费了许多钱. ②Much/A great deal/Quite a little has been done to stop the noise. 已采取了许多措施来制止污染. ▲much,a great deal和 many一样,可作定语或主语,而不能作表语,我们一般说 He has much/a great deal of money,而不说 His money is much(或a great deal). ▲a great deal后面不接名词时,不能用介词of. 3)既能修饰可数名词,又能修饰不可数名词的有 a lot of,lots of,plenty of,a great quantity of等,谓语动词根据主语是可数或不可数决定单复数形式.如:①There are a lot of/lots of people in that room.那个房间里有许多人. ②There's a lot of/lots of rice in the bag.那只口袋里有许多大米. ③They don't have plenty of(=enough)rooms to live in/food to eat. 他们没有足够的房间住/没有足够的食品吃.