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A question from Manuel from Spain: I'm learning English by myself, and my question is: What is the difference between a lot, a lot of and lots of, and when do I have to use them? Thank you!
Susan Fearn answers: So, Manuel, a learner of English from Spain, wants to know the difference between a lot of, lots of and quite simply, a lot. The first point to make here is that English can be more or less formal and lots of is just a more conversational form of a lot of. So you could say or write: There are a lot of people over there Or you could say: There are lots of people over there The last one's chattier - it's less formal. And that's an easy way to remember it, I think. Grammatically speaking, a lot of or lots of is used before a noun, There are a lot of people or what we call a 'noun phrase' - a group of words that serves as a noun. Now, can you spot the noun phrase in this sentence? There are a lot of Spanish people living in London And the noun phrase is, Spanish people living in London: There are a lot of Spanish people living in London. A lot, or for that matter, lots without of, is used in answers. If the question is, 'Are there many Spanish people living in London?' the answer will be: Yes, a lot Or if you want to sound chattier, more conversational: Yes, lots Things do, however, get a bit more complicated in the question and the negative. If a noun is countable, in a negative or question, we normally use many instead of a lot. Are there many British tourists in Spain? There aren't many Spanish tourists in Outer Mongolia But if a noun is uncountable - that's a mass noun like food or money or love - we use much. I haven't got much money Is there much food in the fridge? To finish then, another quick test. Which of these three sentences is grammatically okay? a) I haven't got much money, but I've got much love b) I've got much money but I haven't got much love c) I haven't got much money but I've got a lot of love And the answer is c) I haven't got much money but I've got a lot of love. So if you got that, well done! Susan Fearn has taught English in Europe, Japan and China and has made programmes for أغر؟´«أ½ Learning English in the past. She is currently teaching English for Journalism and Public Relations at the University of Westminster in London. Downloads |
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