Quoting David Barrow <davidab@...>:
> >>What do you understand it as?
> >>
> >>
> >
> >Um. Not exactly a noun. I know what "lots" are,
> >they're nouns. I'm a little less certain of what
> >"alot" is, though.
> >
> >Padraic.
> >
> I don't know what alot is either I couldn't find it in my dictionary :- )
>
> Would you have a problem with 'one lot''
>
> a = one
But certainly "one lot" and "alot" does not mean the same thing! The
inescapable conclusion seems to be "lot" != "-lot".
I still think "alot" is a quantifier for many anglophones.
Andreas