二位老师都没有注意审题，没有搞清楚网友的问题实质是什么。网友显然混淆了 a number of +复数名词和 the number of +复数名词语义和语法功能的区别。a number of people中，a number of起的是数量限定词的作用，主语是of 后的复数名词，谓语动词要用复数形式。例如陈老师给出的例句：An increasing number of people are buying cars. 主语买车的动作是人发出的，而不是number发出的。谓语是are buying。而the number of people中，主语是number，of people是介词短语作定语，谓语动词要用单数形式。例如，The number of people has increased. 谓语动词用单数，逻辑上增加的是number。所以，an increasing number of people 意思是，数量不断增减的人们，中心词是people，不是number！

an increasing number of people为什么是越来越多的人

解答：increasing(日益增多)为现在分词作定语，修饰后面名词“number(数量)”一个日益增多的人数。

 An increasing number of people are buying cars.  买车的人愈来愈多。

An increasing number of people are beginning to realize that education is not complete with graduation.  

越来越多的人开始意识到教育不能随着毕业而结束。

Today an increasing number of people have realized that law education is of great importance.  

现在,愈来愈多的人认识到法制教育的重要性。

备注：an increasing number=a number that is increasing

关键概念：

a number of = a lot of = 大量的......； --> a number of people =【a number of 】整体修饰名词 people = 大量的人 ；

the number of = ......的数量；---> the number of people = the number 【of people】= the number 为 of people 这个介词片语所修饰=人的数量；

所以：

an increasing number of people = 【an increasing number of】修饰 people，原文翻译正确，网友理解出现了偏差。

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