Re: USAGE : English past tense and participle in -et

--- Andreas Johansson <andjo@...> wrote:
> 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
A bunch of carrots is a specific unit of measure.
That's why you can go the the grocer and buy 3 bunches
of carrots.  You can, however, use it loosely and say
"I have a bunch of money" which, colloquially, means
some fairly large amount, but not necessarily a
literal "bunch". Or you can say "I have bunches of
money" which means some plural but uspecified number
of bunches.

A gallon of milk is a specific unit of measure.
That's why you can go to the dairy and buy 3 gallons
of milk.  You can, however, use it loosely and say "I
have a gallon the stuff" which colloguially means some
fairly large amount, but not necessarily a literal
"gallon".  You can also say "I have gallons of the
stuff" which means some unspecified plural number of
gallons.

A "lot" of merchandise is a specific unit of measure.
The normal lot size for eggs, for example, is one
dozen, while the normal lot size for carrots is one
bunch, and the normal lot size for cabbage is one head
and the normal lot size for wholesale wheat is one
lot.  That's why you can go to the auction and buy 10
lots of a given item.  You can, however, use it
loosely and say "I have a lot of money" which
colloquially means some fairly large amount, but not
necessarily a literal "lot".  You can also say "I have
lots of money" or "I have lots and lots of money"
which means some uspecified plual number of lots.

But "lot" remains a singular noun, a unit of measure
exactly equivalent, grammatically, to "inch", "meter",
"gallon", "bunch", "rod", "bale", and "sheaf".  If you
are going to mangle the language by writing "alot"
then you should also write "agallon", "ameter",
"abale", "aninch", and so on.

The simple fact of the matter is that you will not
find "alot" in any English dictionary.  It's ugly and
it should be banned!

--gary

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