[ti:A Lot and Lot]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher,
[00:03.40]we will answer a question from Mohamed about "a lot" and "lot."
[00:10.88]Please explain the difference between ''lot'' and ''a lot''.
[00:15.32]I'm usually confused when I have to choose among them. ---Mohamed
[00:21.48]Dear Mohamed, Thank you for making a comment on our website!
[00:27.40]Firstly, let us look at the noun "lot".
[00:31.60]By itself, "lot" can refer to a set
[00:35.72]or group of things that can be counted.
[00:40.04]Here is an example:
[00:41.96]The company shipped 1000 lots of the vaccine yesterday.
[00:47.68]We can also use "a lot" as an adverb.
[00:51.60]Like other adverbs, it affects the verb in a statement.
[00:56.96]This use of "a lot" can mean "often" or "to a greater degree."
[01:02.24]Compare these examples:
[01:05.44]I go to Indonesian restaurants a lot.
[01:09.28]In the above example, "a lot" talks about the number of times
[01:13.72]I go to Indonesian restaurants.
[01:17.24]Their noodles are a lot spicier than other restaurants.
[01:22.00]In this example, the noodles have a greater degree of taste
[01:26.20]compared to noodles elsewhere.
[01:29.40]And finally, we have "a lot of" and "lots of."
[01:34.44]Both include the preposition "of", and we use them as quantifiers.
[01:40.76]We use them to refer to a quantity of something without being exact.
[01:47.56]These expressions can be used in the same way
[01:50.88]and there is no difference in meaning, though "lots of"
[01:54.64]might be considered by some to be more informal.
[01:59.76]Note that in these examples "a lot of" and "lots of"
[02:04.40]come before noncount nouns.
[02:08.64]They are referring to the same thing.
[02:11.68]In the summer you should drink a lot of water.
[02:17.04]Doctors advise us to drink lots of water.
[02:21.12]I hope this helps you in using these expressions, Mohamed!
[02:26.44]What question do you have about American English?
[02:30.48]Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
[02:37.00]And that's Ask a Teacher.
[02:39.56]I'm Faith Pirlo.
[02:41.68]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM