A Lot and Lot……

The meaning of the word is completely different based on whether or not you use an “a”. You can
figure out the difference this way:

A lot is used to tell how many or how much. It is used as an adverb or a quantifier. For example, you
can say that you love eating pizza a lot, or you can say that there are a lot of pencils on the table.
Either way, you are saying that there is a large number or large amount of something.
Notice that, if you use it to describe the number of something (as a quantifier)’ you need to use “of” to
introduce the items.

● Dan likes to watch TV shows a lot.

● Sally uses a lot of her time at work trying to read self help books.

 
If you are using lot as a noun, the meaning is different. Usually it describes a group of something that
often is for sale, such as seven lots of yogurt. This means that there are groups of yogurt (many of
that item) that are being sold together.
As a noun, lot can also refer to things that people draw to decide on. For example, you can
draw lots to see who will go first, second, third, and so on.
The third most common usage of lot is as a patch or piece of land.
For example, a parking lot is a term used in the United States that talks about the large places where
people can park their cars. You can also buy a lot of land, for example.

Here are some examples of the above;

● Since we cannot decide who should go first, we should draw lots from this hat to decide for us.
● Pat is trying to sell his land altogether, but he is willing to separate it into lots if you really just want a
small piece of land.
● At the auction, several lots brought in high prices while other lots were basically given away.

Do not get confused if there is the word “a” in front of lot in this way! That just means there is
one lot of something, rather than saying that there is much of it.  In some cases, you need to use the
context of the sentence, paragraph, and even passage or discussion to understand which definition is
being used.

To effectively use ‘lot’ as a part of the way you say it or use the phrase ‘a lot of’ and ‘lots of’
suggests that a unit of something or a measure of units or a bundle that is offered together to make
one finished unit. This is found in the way they make use of ‘lot’ in a closeout, for instance one could
say, “These 4 boxes will be sold together as one lot.”

We find the English dialect has changed over time. People used to say “it’s a huge sum” of something
or ”a large amount” of this or that.
Also if we say things like “every one of the individuals or people from a specific gathering”.
Here is how it can be connected to a gathering of individuals, for example…..
1. We were an especially pitiful looking lot after we lost the division.
2. It was a grim lot that gathered for supper that night.
Also the plural ‘lots’ signifies ‘much’ or ‘many’.
The two different ways of saying these words can be used effectively with countable and uncountable
things. Countable things are people or things that could be physically checked.
For instance: “A lot of mutts (dogs) like the water.” and “Lots of canines (dogs) like the water.”
Both are used effectively with the clear understanding of the countable things, since ‘pooches’ (dogs)
is the thing, and someone could count the quantity of puppies (dogs), but in reality the fact is that it is
a speculation and not really talking about a particular number of pooches (dogs).

Lots and a lot of are very popular quantifiers — maybe too popular. Some English teachers do not
like them. They think that lots and a lot of are overused and unsophisticated. You should avoid lots
and a lot of in formal writing. Native speakers usually shorten a lot of to “a lotta” in casual speech.

Few & a few vs. little & a little

Listen carefully to these two sentences:

I have a few friends.

I have few friends.

What is the difference? The first sentence contains the article “a”. This little word makes a big
difference in meaning.

I have a few friends focuses on a positive idea. The speaker is satisfied with the number of friends he
has.
The second sentence, I have few friends, focuses on a negative idea, his lack of friends. The speaker
wishes he had more friends.

It might help to think of few as a half-empty glass of water. A few is like a half-filled glass of water.
The amount of water is the same. But the speaker’s attitude about the amount of water is different.
Few and a few are only used before count nouns.

The same positive-negative distinction applies to a little and little. Use little and a little before
noncount nouns.

I have a little money means the speaker has some money.

I have little money means the speaker does not have enough money.