lot

«lot» in Mova's school dictionary: a large number or a large amount: a lot of people, lots… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a lot, lots; a lot of / lots of); adverb use (a lot = very much); noun (a lot — a piece of land, a group of things for sale)

meaning for a pupil

1) A lot or lots means a large number or a large amount: a lot of people, lots of water. tree →

2) «A lot» as an adverb means very much or very often: I like it a lot. tree →

3) A lot can be a piece of land, such as a parking lot (USA, Canada). tree →

4) A lot can be a thing or group sold at an auction. tree →

5) A lot can also mean your fate, or the circumstances life has given you. tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths «a lot» is not an exact number; problems usually give the real numbers, but «a lot more» means much more. In everyday talk «a lot» and «lots» are very common: «thanks a lot», «a lot of homework». In the USA and Canada a «parking lot» is a car park. Phrases: a lot of, lots of, thanks a lot, quite a lot, the whole lot, a lot better.

examples

• There were a lot of children at the party. tree →
• I have lots of homework tonight. tree →
• Thanks a lot for your help! tree →
• My little sister cries a lot. tree →
• Don't eat the whole lot; leave some for your brother. tree →
• This one is a lot bigger than that one. tree →
• Dad parked the car in the parking lot. tree →
• I've learned a lot this year. tree →
• Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness. tree →

note

Write «a lot» as two words, never «alot». «A lot of» works with countable nouns (a lot of apples) and uncountable nouns (a lot of milk). «Lots of» is more informal. «A lot» is a vague amount: in a maths answer give the number, not «a lot».

In the corpora

• "Going out with someone" means two people are a couple who spend time together because they like each other a lot.
• A crush means really liking someone and thinking about them a lot; it is a private feeling and often passes.
• Crime is on the news a lot, but most people live their whole lives without serious crime touching them.
• Lots of young adults find phone calls to strangers scary; planning what to say first helps, and it gets easier with practice.
• Grown-ups love swapping it over the fence, and a lot of it is harmless fun.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «lot» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.