a great number of修饰可数名词，后面接复数名词，意为：许多的。相当于a great many, a lot of或lots of。
a great number of用法及例句a great number of，of后面直接加复数可数名词。，相当于a great many, a lot of或lots of。
A great number of people agreed with him. 许多人都同意了他的看法。
There are a great number of books in our school library.我们学校的图书馆有很多书籍。
a great number of和a great deal of的区别a great number of和a great deal of 在意思上相同。但用法不一样，a great number of后面只能跟可数名词的复数形式，而a great deal of 后面只能跟不可数名词。
若用a great number of ，后面仍需用名词复数，但谓语动词则应用单数。因为这时表示的是数字，而非数量。
a great number of
1、It affords a livelihood to a great number of people.
这给许多人提供了生计。
2、This research has been in progress since 1961 and has yielded a great number of positive results.
这项研究自1961年起一直在开展，已取得了不少积极成果。
3、A great number of Egyptians are proficient in foreign languages.
很多埃及人都精通外语。
4、A great number of water fowls dwell on the island.
许多水鸟在岛上栖息。
5、A great number of delegates have inscribed their names on the list of speakers.
一系列**的代表要求发言。