Wednesday, 18 April 2007

AAE: Q47: 'A lot of / lots of"

Hi,

Can you explain me the difference between using LOT OF - LOTS OF?

I usually use LOT OF+SINGULAR and LOTS OF + PLURAL (There are lots of trees.).

Is it correct?

Eva


Hi Eva,

Grammatically there is no difference between a lot of and lots of. Both are used with plural count nouns and non-count nouns, like this,

Plural Count Noun
There are a lot of books in your bag.
There are lots of books in you bag.

Non-Count Noun
There is a lot of milk left in your glass.
There is lots of milk left in your glass.

However lots of is more informal and used more often in spoken language whereas a lot of is more common in formal and written English. Also for some speakers, lots of tends to mean, more than a lot of (i.e., a greater quantity).

Hope this helps

Matt


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