a lot of
fixed phrase.fixed phrase. a large number or amount of something. You use this for both things you can count, like people, and things you cannot count, like water.
fixed phrase. a quantifier indicating a large quantity or number. It functions as a determiner and is compatible with both plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
There are a lot of people at the party.
I have a lot of work to finish before I can go home for the weekend.
The researchers gathered a lot of data over the course of the three-year longitudinal study to ensure the results were statistically significant.
more common in speech and informal writing than 'many' or 'much'.
teach this as a 'safe' quantifier for beginners because it works with both countable and uncountable nouns, unlike 'many' or 'much'.
alot ofa lot of'a lot' is always two words; 'alot' is a common spelling error even among native speakers.