amount to

IPA/ɐmˈaʊnt tuː/
IPA/ɐmˈaʊnt tuː/

amount to — phrasal verb

  • amount tobase form
  • amounts to3rd person singular
  • amounting to-ing form
  • amounted topast simple

1. to reach a certain figure once all the separate parts are added together.

1.片語動詞及物B2
釋義

to reach a certain figure once all the separate parts are added together.

例句

Élise added up every receipt, and the trip costs amounted to nearly $3,000.

amount to + money sum

The unpaid fines amounted to more than the price of a new car.

subject is a plural noun naming the parts

同義詞
  • add up to

    very close; slightly more informal

  • total

    single-word verb for the same idea, common on receipts and reports

  • come to

    everyday phrasing, often used of a bill at a shop

文法句型

amount to + figure/sum

用法筆記

Subject is usually the set of parts being counted (bills, hours, sales), and the object is a number, sum, or quantity. Not used in continuous tenses.

常見錯誤

❌The bills are amounting to a lot.
✅The bills amount to a lot.
💡this verb describes a fixed total, so it stays in the simple present, not the continuous.

2. to have the same meaning or effect as something else, even if it is not stated i

2.片語動詞及物B2
釋義

to have the same meaning or effect as something else, even if it is not stated in those exact words.

例句

Rania's silence at the meeting amounted to a clear refusal to help.

amount to + noun naming the real effect

Skipping every training session amounts to telling the coach you have quit.

amount to + gerund clause

同義詞

文法句型

amount to + noun

not amount to much

用法筆記

Often used to judge the real significance of an action, especially in the negative ('amount to nothing', 'not amount to much') to say something is worthless. Distinguish from sense 1, which counts a literal total rather than weighing an effect.

常見錯誤

❌Her excuse amounts a lie.
✅Her excuse amounts to a lie.
💡this sense always keeps the preposition 'to' before the thing it equals.