Am I Crazy Or ?

[arcticfox2005]

I just read an article on my Kindle and the headline was "Amount of People Hesitant to get Covid-19 Vaccine Dropping Rapidly."

To me, this is wrong - a classic example of the misuse of "amount" and "number".

I what you are talking about is countable, you use "number" - otherwise, use "amount".

These are correct:

The number of people on a bus
The amount of water in a bucket
The amount of sand in a pile
The number of cars in a garage
The number of electrons in an atom
The amount of gasoline in a tank
Etc Etc

Now, will someone with expertise in the English language please weigh in?

Thank you,
Bill

 

[uchu]

Its simple. Amount or number are used to describe how much or how many of something.

So, which one is correct: how much people or how many people?

 

[Rob&Deryl]

I don’t get the point of the post.

 

[ziplock]

I don’t get the point of the post.

what do you mean?

 

[Rob&Deryl]

what do you mean?

I don’t understand the point of the OP.

 

[ziplock]

I don't understand your question. The point is obvious.

 

[Larry N.]

I don't understand your question. The point is obvious.

Apparently not to everyone...

 

[Utclmjmpr]

Ho humm ..............!

 

[Tom55555]

You're crazy. LOL

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The distinction between those two terms is somewhat dependent on context and the thought to be cconveyed. The fact that something is countable doesn't mean it has to be counted to be gramatically correct. If I don't choose to count the items in question, I can still refer to a non-specific amount. For example, the number of dollars in my bank account indicates the amount of my wealth.

I agree with arcticfox2005 - the preferred usage in his example would have been "number" rather than "amount". A professional writer should know the difference, even if it's subtle.

 

[Old_Crow]

I shouldn't say this, because I know we have someone on here that writes tech manuals, but some of the worst grammar I've ever seen was in early(late 80's-early 90's)Subaru factory service manuals that had been translated from Japanese.

 

[Joezeppy]

LOL - my job requires reviewing websites from companies all over the world. Over the years it's become obvious to me that some companies spend way more on interpreters than others!

 

[IBTripping]

Oh no. Don't get me started or I'll weigh in on "there" and "their" and "they're" or "your" and "you're" or "ac" and "a/c."

 

[Joezeppy]

We have a BJ's Wholesale Club gas station here and they have a sign on every pump warning "Do not loan your BJ's card to anyone". A few years back someone took the time to cross out "loan", write in "lend", and add "loan is a noun; lend is a verb". Vandalism aside, I got a kick out of it.