Just to clarify slightly, take the following:-
A
2 1
3
4 3
5
6 2
7 2
8
=COUNT(A2:A8) would give you 4
=COUNT(A2:A8,2) would give you 5 and is the same as
=COUNT(A2:A8) + 1
=COUNT(A2:A8,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) would give you 11 and is the same as
=COUNT(A2:A8) + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
Each value within the list of arguments represents 1, whatever it's actual value
is, and for each value it is this representation of 1 that is added to the count
of values within the range.
=COUNT(A2:A8,2,3,"Hello",5,6,7,8) is perfectly valid, and would give you 10, ie
=COUNT(A2:A8) + 1 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1