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Englishnewbie Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

The amount of countable noun?

Hello,
I asked this question yesterday, and a member replied that I need "the" in front of a countable noun to use "the amount of"

The amount of loans was large.
The amount of THE loans was large.

The member stated that "the" was a critical factor here to use "the amount of" with a countable noun becuase it is sually used with uncountable nouns.

I tried to ask the reason why THE is critical but received no reply.

Can someone answer this question for me? That is, why is THE critical?

Thank you.
  

Top answer

'The' is critical because 'the amount of loans' is not good grammar. 'Loans' is countable and 'amount' modifies uncountables. What I presume you mean is the monetary total of the loan amounts, but 'the number (NOT 'amount') of loans' means 3 loans or 4 loans, for instance.

— Mister Micawber

  • 'The' is critical because 'the amount of loans' is not good grammar.
  • 'Loans' is countable and 'amount' modifies uncountables.
  • What I presume you mean is the monetary total of the loan amounts, but 'the number (NOT 'amount') of loans' means 3 loans or 4 loans, for instance.
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2 Answers
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'The' is critical because 'the amount of loans' is not good grammar. 'Loans' is countable and 'amount' modifies uncountables. What I presume you mean is the monetary total of the loan amounts, but 'the number (NOT 'amount') of loans' means 3 loans or 4 loans, for instance.
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