Though common in informal communication, alot has never made its way into edited writing, and its generally considered a misspelling. The word girl sure has changed a lot next time you hear someone ranting about how the language is going to hell in a handbasket or complaining about people misusing this or that word, ask him to define the word girl. I would just add that lots of is informal and colloquial, whereas a lot of is neutral that is, it can be used both formally and. It hurts, allie, but i do it because the workbook told me to. There is often confusion over alot, a lot and allot.
But for some reason learners of english have come to believe that it can be used. However, a lot can be used for noncountables as well. Countable noun i have a lot of time to answer your. Buy our book smashing grammar 2019 written by the founder of grammar monster, smashing grammar includes a glossary of grammar essentials from apostrophes to zeugma and a. Grammarist the online grammar dictionary, provides explanation about english grammar rules, grammar tips and articles about a variety of grammatical definitions and mistakes.
I get a lot of questions about things that are too short to make up a whole podcast, so today im going to answer a few of those short questions. There are lots is correct because the subject lots is plural. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips to clean up your. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Whether setting out to read a specific amount of pages before moving on to another activity, or. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. Van brenner from sparks, nevada is a former workshop editor of the omnificent english dictionary in limerick form. Even correctly spelled, however, the imprecise term has a colloquial ring, and it might sound out of place in, say. A few short questions grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Along with focus, readers set goals for themselves whenever they sit down with a good book.
A more accurate title would probably be grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better grammar. Grammarist english grammar, grammar rules and tips. Van brenner from sparks, nevada is a former workshop editor of the omnificent english dictionary. A lot functions as an adjective, and allot is a verb. As a noun, a lot means a large extent, a large amount, or a large number. Grammar nouns, pronouns and determiners quantifiers much, many, a lot of, lots of. But in sentences that begin with there is and there are, the. In grammar girl s quick and dirty tips to clean up your writing, mignon tackles some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. Shelley reads a lot of books during her morning commute. Bond market just got alot more popular, etf tips to win fox business. In any type of serious writing, the two word spelling, a lot. Lots, a lot, plenty english grammar today cambridge. You can only use a lot of with plural nouns or uncountable nouns. There werent a whole lot of actual writing tips, with the exception of a short chapter near.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Remember, the word alot does not exist unless you mean the indian town of alot. As many middle school english teachers constantly remind their students, a lot is a lot of. You also might allot several thousand dollars to a college fund. He allotted three breaks a day to everyone in the department a short guide to improving your grammar. So, if a plural subject is used books the verbs is plural and if a singular subject is used money then the verb is singular. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books. We use a lot of in positive sentences, negative sentences and questions. Is goes with a singular subject, are goes with a plural subject. Correct a lot functions as either a noun or an adverb, while allot is a verb. The most common mistake involving these words is writing alot instead of a lot. A bit all any either enough least, the least, at least less little, a little, few, a few lots, a lot, plenty many more most, the most, mostly much, many, a lot of, lots of. A lot of and lots of are used to express that there is a large quantity of something. As an adverb, a lot means to a great extent or to a great degree.
They can mean either a great quantity of or a large number of and can be rather confusing at times. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. What is the difference between a lot of, lots of, a lot. The difference between adverse and averse grammar monster. Other uses of lot, such as a beautiful lot of land or a parking lot, often pale in comparison to the frequency of the phrase a lot, so its easy to see how people could get mixed up. It could be that since the word lot isnt used in many other instances besides the phrase a lot that writers began to think of alot as the actual word being used and not lot. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. But somewhere along the line this idea became deeply. Use regardless to keep your grammar loving friends at bay. In any type of serious writing, the two word spelling, a lot, is the safer choice. Lot is the subject of the sentence and it is singular. These expressions can be used before a countable or an uncountable noun. But the book said so, so i grew up and did what the book said, because im a good catholic girl and i follow the rules, despite the fact that using alot. Its one of those words that gets misspelled so often one can easily get the impression that there are actually two different and.
Granted, it was the 80s, and it was catholic school. Books similar to grammar girls quick and dirty tips for. Alot is the incorrect spelling of the correct phrase a lot. Yahoo shareholders could have done a lot worse bloomberg. She works a lot allot means to allocate or apportion.
Books similar to grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. Alot or a lot grammar explanations may be difficult to come by. If youre not sure what you should use, ask yourself if youre looking to put a verb or an adjective in your sentence. A lot of we use a lot of with countable and uncountable nouns. It is the subject and not the phrase a lot of or lots of which determines whether the following verb is singular or plural. Wrong i know a lot about underwater basket weaving. On the other hand, a lot is a twoword phrase made up of the indefinite article a and the noun lot, which means a large amount or quantity, a great deal. Other uses of lot, such as a beautiful lot of land or a parking lot, often pale in comparison to the frequency of the phrase a lot.
1107 44 1537 348 429 138 374 1510 1326 1228 1458 502 1271 1202 713 726 1248 900 705 1252 380 653 965 798 949 191 1140 395 465 301 651 46 327 856 328 195 950 496 963 1341 153 1140 327