I failed to understand the meaning of と in the sentence "峠を二つ三つ **と**
こえても、まだ海は見えてこない" when I read the story
[あの坂をのぼれば](http://blog.livedoor.jp/natsuhanamiyazaki/archives/40638060.html).

I browsed through the meanings of と in 明鏡国語辞典, but it seems none of them fits.

Could you tell me the meaning of this と and share some examples of this sort
of と?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-29T11:12:06.523
74122
2020-01-29T14:32:11.120
31630
question
particle-と
Meaning of と in "Quantifier plus と"
> 「峠{とうげ}を二{ふた}つ三{みっ}つ **と** こえても、まだ海{うみ}は見{み}えてこない。」

こえる＝越える

First and foremost, quantifiers are often used **_adverbially_** in Japanese
whereas they are more often used **_adjectivally_** in English. This has been
discussed [in this
Q&A](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/17816/how-to-list-numbers-
of-things/17832#17832).

Japanese way: 「峠を二つ三つ（と）こえる」、「ハンバーガーを二つ食{た}べる」、「テーブルにリンゴが２個{こ}ある。」, etc.

"English" way: 「二つ三つ **の** 峠をこえる」、「二つのハンバーガーを食べる」、「テーブルに２個のリンゴがある。」, etc.

In the sentence in question, 「二つ三つと」 functions adverbially to modify the verb
「こえて（も）」.

There is virtually no difference in meaning between 「二つ三つ **と** 」 and 「二つ三つ」.
Both function adverbially and both mean " ** _a few (times)_** ".

The 「と」 simply adds a very small amount of emphasis to the quantifier/adverb.
Likewise, the difference in meaning between 「ゆっくり」 and 「ゆっくりと」, 「しっかり」 and
「しっかりと」, etc. is minimal.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-29T14:32:11.120
74129
2020-01-29T14:32:11.120
74122
answer