英语中“许多”的表达法

陈永涛

英语中“许多”的表达法有许多，如many， a great/ good many， quite a few， a （large） number of， large numbers of， most， many a， more than one， much， quite a little， a great deal of， a large amount of， a large quantity of和large quantities of。其中有的只能修饰可数名词，有的只能修饰不可数名词，有的既可修饰可数名词，又可修饰不可数名词。

一、只能修饰可数名词复数形式的有：many， a great/ good many， quite a few， a （large） number of， large numbers of， most等，其后的谓语动词要用复数形式。如：

A large number of houses were destroyed in the earthquake.

许多房屋在地震中被摧毁了。

注意：many/ most 与many of/ most of的区别。

many/ most后直接接名词的复数形式；而many of/ most of后要接“定冠词the +名词的复数形式”。如：

There are 35 boys in our class. Most boys are from the countryside.

我们班共有35个男孩子，许多都来自农村。

There are 35 boys in our class. Most of the boys are from the countryside.

我们班共有35个男孩子，他们大多数来自农村。

注意：a number of与the number of的区别。

a number of后接名词的复数形式，做主语时，动词用复数形式，意思为“许多……”；而the number of后接名词的复数形式，做主语时，动词用单数形式，意思为“……的数量”，如：

A number of passengers are from the USA.

许多旅客都来自美国。

The number of the passengers is 20.

旅客的数量是20。

二、只能修饰可数名词单数形式的有：many a， more than one， 其后的谓语动词用单数形式。如：

More than one student in our class likes collecting stamps.

我们班不止一个学生喜欢集邮。

试比较：许多学生喜欢观看篮球比赛。

Many a student likes watching basketball games.

Many students like watching basketball games.

以上两句话的中文意思一样，但名词student与动词like的形式不一样。

三、只能修饰不可数名词的有：much， quite a little， a great deal of， a large amount of等，其后的谓语动词用单数形式。如：

Every day my daughter has quite a little homework to do.

我女儿每天都有许多家庭作业要做。

注意：a great deal of与a great deal的区别。

a great deal of后接不可数名词，意思是“许多”；而a great deal是副词短语，修饰动词，其意思是“十分，非常”。如：

A great deal of work was done by the children in the park.

公园里很多的工作都被孩子们做完了。

四、既可以修饰可数名词，又可以修饰不可数名词的有：plenty of， a lot of， lots of， a mass of， masses of等，谓语动词的单复数形式根据它们后面所接的名词的形式而定。如：

A lot of big trees were blown down last night.

昨天晚上许多大树被大风刮倒了。

Plenty of food was left for the next two weeks.

这些食物足够未来两周之用了。

五、a large quantity of和large quantities of后既可接可数名词复数形式，也可接不可数名词，谓语动词的单复数形式要根据quantity的单复数形式来决定。如：

A large quantity of flowers has been planted in our school.

我们学校种了许多花。（quantity是单数，故动词用单数has）

Large quantities of food were sent to the flooded areas.

大量的食物被送往了洪涝灾区。（quantity是复数，故动词用复数were）

【巩固练习】

（ ）1. _______ student failed in the test.endprint

A. Many B. Many a

C. Quite a little D. A large quantity of

（ ）2. _______ money has been spent on the environmental protection.

A. A great deal B. A great deal of C. A lot D. Quite a few

（ ）3. A large quantity of patients _______ sent to the hospital at once.

A. have been B. has C. were D. was

（ ）4. _______ the people are against going to Sydney， so they have to give it up.

A. Most of B. A large number of C. The number of D. Many

（ ）5. After the new technique was introduced， the factory produced _______ tractors in 2014 as the year before.

A. as twice many B. as many twice

C. twice as many D. twice many as

（ ）6. _______ people can write with the left hand.

A. Not many a B. Many not

C. Not many D. Not more than one

（ ）7. It is impossible for so _______ workers to do so _______ work in a single day.

A. few； much B. few； many C. little； much D. little； many

（ ）8. The number of people invited _______ fifty， but a number of them _______ absent for

different reasons.

A. were； was B. was； was C. were； were D. was； were

（ ）9. As a result of destroying the forests， a large _______ of desert _______ covered the land.

A. quantity； have B. quantity； has

C. number； have D. number； has

（ ）10. There is _______ coal in this area.

A. a great deal B. a lots of

C. quite a few D. a large amount of

【Keys】

1～5 BBDAC 6～10 CADBDendprint