Thread: alot and a lot

So which one is right? I think 'alot' should be correct, although I get told off by MS Word for typing it out.

There is no such word as 'alot'. When referring to a degree of something, it is 'a lot'.

"There were a lot of people there".

I think it should be 'alot' seems to look better when you're reading, it does for me. I never use 'alot' I use 'a lot' for the good of it

Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com

The reason we use the expression 'a lot' is because a 'lot' is an unspecified but set number, usually large. I try not to language nazi as language is one of those things that I believe will always be evolving, but because 'alot' is not considered a real word most word processing programs will continue to ping you for it. Some programs offer an 'ignore this word/add to dictionary' option that you can set so it will stop squaking at you- but a human editor will correct you as well if you try to go for publishing anyway...

I don't even like using the term 'a lot' it was just something that baffled me

Haha. Yeah, pretty much the only time I use it is in dialoge if it's something in character for that character to say. And I can't think of anything better.

I used to spell it alot for ages. I still do but usually catch it. If enough time passes with the majority of people joining the words, it would become accepted English.