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should "a lot" be written in singular or plural form?
should "a lot" be written in singular or plural form?
for example,
"A lot gets lost in translation. "
Is this correct, or should I change it in a plural form? like A lot get lost in translation.
I am assuming that if the word coming after "a lot" is a singular, the following verb needs the third person/object's S.
Like, a lot of water was spilled on the floor.
On the other hand, where a plural noun is used after a lot, does it become plural?
like, a lot of angry civilians are likely to hit the road for an anti-presidential campaign.
Oct 11, 2016 3:13 PM
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Answers · 4
Hi.
Nope, 'a lot' stays in it's form whether the noun after it was in singular or plural form, since it is bounded by the article 'a' in the phrase. So the phrase "a lot of angry civilians" is correct.
However, 'a lot' could be changed to 'lots' which is a plural noun. But 'lots' is an informal form of 'a lot'.
Example:
"I met lots of interesting people yesterday."
and
"I met a lot of interesting people yesterday."
are the same, just that the first one is informal.
Hope this helps! ^ u ^
October 11, 2016
You are right. 'A lot' can be either singular or plural, depending on whether it refers to a singular or plural noun.
For example, 'Many small birds begin the flight across the ocean, but a lot GET lost on the way.'
Here 'a lot' means 'a lot of small birds', so the verb takes a plural form.
But in your example, 'A lot GETS lost in translation', you are right to use a singular verb. This is because 'a lot' probably refers to 'sense' , 'meaning', 'humour' or another uncountable noun.
October 11, 2016
