Number vs Amount vs Quantity

Number is used for words that we can count. We can use number to talk about objects and living things:

A large number of people have applied for the job.

I could give you any number of reasons for not going.

Amount is used to talk about things we can’t count:

We’ve had an enormous amount of help from people.

The sauce has just the right amount of salt.

Quantity is used to talk about both countable and uncountable things . It is used to talk about objects, but not living things.

They were surprised by the sheer quantity of food.

A large quantity of books were sold.

We also often say: “in large/small/huge quantities”

It is a product that is cheap to produce in large quantities.

Coffee is consumed in vast quantities around the world.