A lot - Most

In spoken English and informal writing when we want to indicate a large quality of something we tend to use a lot, a lot of, lots of.

A lot means very often or very much. It is used as an adverb. It often comes at the end of a sentence and never before a noun.

My brother plays football a lot

She's a lot happier after quitting her job

A lot of is more formal than lots of. They both mean a large amount or number of poeple or things and they can be used with plural countable nouns and with singular uncountable nouns for affirmatives, negatives, and questions.

That's a lot of money

There are a lot of great students here

Weve got lots of things to do today

We use the quantifier most to talk about quantities, amounts and degree. We can use it with a noun (as a determiner) or without a noun (as a pronoun). We can also use it with adjectives and adverbs to form the superlative.

We use most with nouns in the meaning the majority of. If there is no article, demonstrative or possessive pronoun, we use most right before the noun.

Most tap water is drinkable.

When we are talking about the majority of a specific set of something, we use most of the + noun.

Most cakes are sweet (cakes in general)

The party was amazing. Kate made most of the cakes herself (a specific set of cakes at the party)

We can leave out the noun with most when the noun is obvious from the context.

Students can eat in the cafeteria but most bring food from home (=most students)

Guided Practice#

• She loves cooking for her boyfriend ....................

There are a lot of things to do here.

• .................... people when to see their performance yesterday.

• .................... rivers are heavily polluted.

Most students don't like doing homework.

• .................... the students didn't do their homework that day.

High school graduates can take a gap year though most high school graduates still go to college right after graduating.

• High school graduates can take a gap year though .................... still go to college right after graduating.

Short Story using Quantifiers A Lot - Most#

-I know that most teenagers like partying and going out with their friends but most of my friends aren't like that. We go to the theatres and museums a lot.

-That's so interesting! What do you like the most about contemporary museums?

-Well, most people think that museums are really boring but it's not true nowadays. A lot of museums are interactive. They are entertaining, engaging, and educational. And people of all ages have lots of fun in there!

Independent Practice#

Fill in the gaps with a lot, a lot of, most.

1. My dad spends .................... money on his hobbies.
2. .................... of the children at this school have tables.
3. Generally speaking, .................... pizzas contain meat.
4. We had to write .................... essays this semester.
5. I don't like strawberries .................... .
6. .................... of time I spend reading at home.
7. Peter looks .................... younger than his brother.
8. Don't worry, we have .................... time to finish it.
9. There are .................... smokers in their family.
10. .................... taxis pass down this street, so you'll be able to get home safely.