求助：number 与 numbers 的区别是什么？

sunboyoo

这两道OG的题目，一个选择numbers, 另外一个选择 number. 为什么？


Although beavers can still be found throughout the western United States, their number has declined compared with the eighteenth century, when the abundance of beavers lured armies of European trappers into the Rocky Mountain region to slaughter them for their pelts.

A. their number has declined compared with
B. their numbers have compared with
C. their numbers have declined since
D. their numbers have in comparison to those of
E. the number of them declined since




A Labor Department study states that the numbers of women employed outside the home grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase in the past decade and accounted for more than sixty-two percent of the total growth in the civilian workforce.

A. numbers of women employed outside the home grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase
B. numbers of women employed outside the home grew more than thirty-five percent
C. numbers of women employed outside the home were raised by more than thirty-five percent
D. number of women employed outside the home increased by more than thirty-five percent
E. number of women employed outside the home was raised by more than a thirty-five percent increase

DUKB24

quote from manhattan：



1)     The number of is singular, and A number of is plural.
2)     The numbers of is almost alwaysincorrect. Stick to the expression the number of.
3)     However, numbers is possible in a few contexts. If you wish to make acomparison, use greater than, not more than (which might imply that thequantity of numbers is larger, not the numbers themselves)

Wrong: Therare Montauk beaked griffin is not extinct; its NUMBERS are now suspected to be much MORE THAN before.
Right: Therare Montauk beaked griffin is not extinct; its NUMBERS are now suspected to be much GREATER THAN before.

蓝丝绒

详见该贴 http://forum.chasedream.com/GMAT_SC/thread-741359-1-1.html