Number is the most underestimated of the grammatical categories. It is deceptively simple yet distinctions in number (as in cat versus cats ) vary considerably from language to language. Some languages, for instance, make more distinctions than English, having three, four or even five different values. This book draws on examples from many languages to analyze the possibilities and reveals that the world's linguistic resources are richer than even many linguists realize. It is intended for linguistic students and teachers and is an ideal entry to linguistic typology. "This book is another magnum opus by Corbett, to add to his earlier books on agreement and gender. It develops arguments from these works, while also breaking completely new ground. Number will be of great interest to all linguists, and also those from outside the field. Corbett is to be congratulated...and his next magnum opus will be awaited with eager anticipation." Canadian Slavonic Papers