You use that word a lot

Alot or a lot grammar explanations may be difficult to come by. This is because alot is not actually a word!

But for some reason learners of English have come to believe that it can be used. Let’s though take a look at alot vs a lot.

Summary of Alot or A Lot Grammar

So to summarise, when thinking about alot or a lot grammar, you should always use the words a lot. 

This is because alot does not exist as a word. 

It’s not clear why these words may be confused. It’s possible that people are thinking of the word allot. That word means «to give something, especially a share of something available, for a particular purpose».

• The Ministry of Defence was allotted 20% of the budget this year
• I’ve been allotted an hour to finish this

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What’s the Difference Between A Lot and Alot?

A lot and alot might seem like alternate spellings of the same word. However, this is not the case. Alot is simply a common misspelling of a lot.

A lot is an expression that means a large number or a great quantity.

• There are a lot of people who live in New York City.

Alot is an incorrect way to spell a lot. Many people think that because a lot is pronounced without a pause between the two words that it is okay to spell the two words without a space between them. However, these are actually two separate parts of speech: the article a and a noun lot.

• Look at all the sand on this beach! There’s alot. (Incorrect spelling – use a lot instead)

Let’s look at some of the ways to use, and not use, these words in English.

Using A Lot in a Sentence

When to use a lot: A lot is actually just the word lot with the article a in front of it. It has the same meaning as a great amount or a large number.

For example:

• We need a lot of ice for all the people at this party and their drinks.
• Today it rained a lot.

A lot also appears in many idioms and expressions, some of which appear below:

• to have a lot on one’s plate: to have many things to do or be responsible for
  • You’re a full time father, businessman, and volunteer. Of course you have a lot on your plate!
• that says a lot about someone or something: an action shows the character of a person or other thing
  • He’s a famous actor but he donates most of what he earns to good causes. That says a lot about him.
• to have a lot of nerve: to be brazen or audacious (usually used in an accusatory manner)
  • You have a lot of nerve to steal my dog and then come ask me for money!

A lot often appears followed by of when it is important to know what there is a lot of.

Using Alot in a Sentence

When to use Alot: Alot is not a word at all, so you shouldn’t ever use it. It’s just a common misspelling of a lot.

For example:

• I need to make alot of cash in a short amount of time. (incorrect spelling – use a lot instead)
• Did you see any llamas in Peru? Apparently there are alot there. (incorrect spelling – use a lot instead)

Some words are used together so often that they become a compound word over time and the development of English. A lot has not yet turned in to one of those words.

Remembering A Lot vs. Alot

One way to help you remember to use a lot and avoid alot is to use their spellings and grammatical rules.

Try to think of a lot this way: The expression is two separate words because lot is actually a noun means a big amount. Just as you need a before big amount, you must use a before lot. Likewise, you cannot combine a and big to say abigamount just as you cannot combine a and lot.

Outside Examples

• “I really enjoy the golf course,” McCarron said. “The par 5s I can get to. I drive one of the par 4s, so if I’m driving it well, I’ll have a lot of wedges in my hand and if I can hit the wedges good I’ll have some good opportunities.” –Houston Chronicle
• “The pressure is on them,” Oakley said. “They’re making a lot of money. The major leagues are very unforgiving. Expectations are there. They’ve got to perform. If anything comes up that gets in the way of that, the pressures can bounce really quickly.” –LA Times
• “The phase we’re in, what we’re looking to do and acquiring all these players, there is a lot of work to be done,” he said. “None of us are satisfied and we’ll never be satisfied because we want to grow these players into what we envision them to be. It’s been an exhilarating experience, it really has. –Chicago Sun Times
• My dad cooked a lot, so I knew how to use knives. I collected knives as a kid. I just thought they were interesting; kind of cool. –Chicago Tribune

Quiz: Alot vs. A Lot

Instructions: Fill in the blank with either alot or a lot.

1. You’re moving too slow. You need to pick up _______ of speed. (incorrect spelling)
2. Where did all my socks go? I used to have ________. (incorrect spelling)
3. You know, if you like running ______________, you should join the cross country team at our school. (correct spelling)
4. Be careful if you’re going to eat my sister’s cooking. She always adds _____________ of salt. (correct spelling)
5. I’m not a professional golfer, but I do play the sport ____________. (correct spelling)

See answers below.

Article Summary

Should I use a lot or alot? Only one of these is the correct spelling.

• A lot is the correct form and it means many or much.
• Alot is an incorrect spelling of a lot, so make sure to never make this error.

Use the information in this article to ensure you accidentally write a lot instead of alot.

Answers

1. alot
2. alot
3. a lot
4. a lot
5. a lot

There is a surprising amount of confusion between these two words (one of which isn’t actually a word) and which is the correct form to appear in your sentences.

Today, I want to go over the difference between a lot vs. alot and show you a few tricks to remember which of them to use. After reading this post, you won’t ever confuse them again.

While it may be common to see the word “alot” throughout Internet commenting or text messaging, the word is never seen in print, and the reason is simple: it isn’t an actual word.

That’s right. If you go to any dictionary, you will not find the word “alot” as an entry, which makes it all the more interesting why the confusion between the two exists.

What Is a “Lot”?

The two-word construction a lot is just that: two separate words. You have the article a and the noun lot. The word lot is defined as, “a large number or amount, a great deal.”

For example,

• You just drank a lot of milk with dinner.
• Your car uses a lot of gas.
• You read a lot of books.

Just as you wouldn’t combine other instances of article + noun constructions in your sentences, adog, acat, ahorse, etc., you don’t combine the two words a lot. There’s no rhyme or reason to why people combine the words, but plenty of people make the mistake.

And no one knows exactly why. It could be that since the word lot isn’t 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.

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 it’s easy to see how people could get mixed up. Even this, however, isn’t a totally convincing reason because the plural use of lot (lots) is used correctly with great frequency.

Another possible explanation is the similar features the phrase a lot has with the unrelated word allot.

When to Use Allot

Despite sounding similar to—and being spelled similar as—a lot, the single word allot is an unrelated verb. To allot something is “to give or apportion something to someone as a share.”

For example,

• Will you please allot me my share of the inheritance?
• The lawyer allotted the remained assets from the will.
• During the debate, equal time will be allotted to each party.

As I said above, the fact that this word sounds alike and looks similar to a lot may cause some people to confuse the two.

Remember the Difference

Now that we know a lot is the correct choice for our sentences, here are a few tricks to remember this fact.

Something my grade school English teacher would say to help us remember is,

• A lot is a lot of words.

Another great trick I learned from a reader of mine is similar to the analogy I gave above about combining words like a dog into adog.

• You cannot say “alittle,” so you cannot say “alot.”

Makes sense doesn’t it?

Summary

It’s important to keep track of these two words in your writing because alot vs. a lot are very different.

Alot is not a word.

A lot is the correct choice.

We use a lot … a lot. But ask someone to define a lot and they’ll probably start by saying “A lot means … a lot!” That’s because it’s so commonly used that it can be hard to think of how to explain it.

A lot can seem like it should be a single word—and maybe one day the spelling alot will appear in this dictionary. But right now, the two-word spelling a lot is the one that’s recognized as standard. As for allot, it’s a different word altogether (even though it’s pronounced the same).

Allot some time to learn why a lot is spelled the way it is, and we promise you’ll learn a lot more along the way (including how to know whether a lot is being used as a noun or an adverb).

⚡️ Quick summary

A lot, which is often misspelled as alot, means “a large number or quantity” or “very much,” and it can be used as a noun or an adverb. Allot is a verb that means “to portion out” or “to set aside a share or portion of something, such as money or time, for a specific purpose.”

What does a lot mean?

As a noun, a lot means “a large number, quantity, or amount,” as in That’s a lot of cheese! or I only have a few hobbies, but my husband has a lot.

As an adverb, a lot means “very much” or “a great deal,” as in I love you a lot, or “often,” as in I’ve been practicing a lot. It’s used as an adverb in the phrase Thanks a lot (which is the same as saying Thanks very much).

Sometimes, it can be hard to tell whether a lot is being used as a noun or an adverb (making it hard to know what it’s supposed to mean). One way to tell is to remember that the noun use of a lot can be (and often is) paired with the word of and another noun. For example, in the sentence I had to study a lot for the test, the term a lot could refer to a lot of material, in which case it’s being used as a noun. However, if a lot is supposed to mean “often,” it’s being used as an adverb.

How much do you know about words that can mean their opposites? We have a lot to say about contronyms, so read up!

A lot is probably misspelled as alot so commonly because we tend to think of it as functioning as a single word, but it’s really a combination of two: a (the extremely common indefinite article we use all the time, as in I have a cat and a dog) and lot (which, by itself, can mean “large number or quantity” or “great deal”).

The word lots can mean the same thing as (and can be used interchangeably with) a lot, both as a noun, as in Lots of people were at the party, and as an adverb, as in I love you lots or I’ve been practicing lots. A lot is informal but very common, and lots is even more informal.

A lot is very similar to other constructions like a ton (which can be used as a synonym of a lot) and a bit (which can be thought of as the opposite of a lot). Like a lot, both terms can also function as both nouns and adverbs: a bit of cheese (noun); back up a bit so you can be in the picture (adverb).

What does allot mean?

Allot is a verb that means “to divide out something into shares or portions,” as in His estate was allotted among his heirs.

It can also mean “to dedicate or assign something, especially money or time, for a specific purpose,” as in We’re going to allot half of our budget for supplies or Please allot some time to review your work.

The noun form is allotment, which can mean the same thing as portion.

How to use a lot vs. alot vs. allot

When to use a lot: when you’re talking about a large quantity of something or want to indicate that something happens or is done often or all the time. A lot is only ever used as a noun or an adverb.

When to use alot: don’t. It’s a misspelling of a lot.

When to use allot: when you’re talking about dividing something into portions or devoting a portion of time, money, or something else to a specific purpose. Allot is only ever used as a verb.

Examples of a lot and allot used in a sentence

Check out these examples to see how a lot and allot are commonly used in a sentence (sometimes even in the same one).

• I like a lot of toppings on my pizza.
• I have a lot, and I believe it’s my responsibility to help people who have very little.
• I’ve been thinking a lot about this problem, and I think I have a solution.
• The remaining shares have been allotted between you and your sister.
• The residents at the meeting requested that we allot more money to the park project.
• You’ll need to allot a lot of time to count the ballots—there are almost 500.