see|a lot|allot
English
Adverb
alot
- misspelling of|a lot
Noun
alot
- misspelling of|a lot
Usage notes
A spelling of �a lot� in the adverbial senses of "very much or many" and "often" frequent in informal writing but not generally accepted by arbiters of English usage. When it appears intentionally in print, it is generally either representing the original spelling in a work quoted, or is an attempt by the author to convey poor education in the character using it.
1993, The Columbia Guide to Standard American English calls alot �substandard� and notes that it is �increasingly found in Informal correspondence and student writing� and �has as yet received no sanction in print except on the op-ed and sports pages.� 1
1996, The American Heritage Book of English Usage states that �alot is still considered an error in print� but notes that standard words have formed by fusion of the article with a noun, such as another and awhile, and suggests the possibility that alot may like them eventually enter standard usage. 2
2004, Jack Lynch Guide to Grammar and Style (entry dated 2004) flatly states this to be a two-word expression. 3
2004, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage also compares alot to awhile. It states alot to be �still regarded as nonstandard� and notes 50 appearances in the British National Corpus, �almost entirely from three sources: e-mail, TV autocue data, and TV newscripts.� It suggests that some usages of alot in typewritten use are to be considered merely typos of the standard a lot though its appearance in handwriting and typescript is �more significant, as the shadow of things to come.� 4
Quotations
2000: There was alot of sex discrimination in the 60�s. For one thing there was no sports for girls and in alot of schools the female teachers were not allowed to get married or they could be fired. �Teaching Secondary English, ed. Daniel Sheridan. [in a tenth-grade student's paper] 5
2003: It was alot of lumber, alot of condos, and Joe did not know alot about either of them, only that it was alot of money; he hated to throw his money into something he did not know alot about. �Matt Janacone, Three by the Sea 6
2005: She talked about death: �My philosophy on life is it could be alot better. Like I would�ve never gotten into this mess if I wouldn�t have tried to commit suicide. Actually I was just trying to make myself sick. But then again it could be alot worse! [...]� �Aphrodite Jones, Cruel Sacrifice [From the sucidal patient's own writing.] 7
Category:English adverbs
Kiput
Etymology
From Proto-North Sarawak *alud.
Noun
alot
- boat
Category:Kiput nouns
de:alot
ru:alot
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