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Usenet Posted 20 years ago
Usage
Was or were?
I stumbled upon this sentence in an article on bbc sport. The sentence is
..There was a lot of people who acted on anger...
When I first read it, my immediate reaction was that there should've been 'were' instead
of 'was'. In fact, many of my friends thought the same way. But, I think 'was' is correct because of the subsquent 'a'. But in this case what is the exact meaning of 'lot'. What does one mean when he or she says 'I've lots of book'?
In the previous para is it correct to say lot of my friends, ie, can we use 'a lot' instead of 'many'?
ninad
..There was a lot of people who acted on anger...
When I first read it, my immediate reaction was that there should've been 'were' instead
of 'was'. In fact, many of my friends thought the same way. But, I think 'was' is correct because of the subsquent 'a'. But in this case what is the exact meaning of 'lot'. What does one mean when he or she says 'I've lots of book'?
In the previous para is it correct to say lot of my friends, ie, can we use 'a lot' instead of 'many'?
ninad
Top answer
[nq:1]I stumbled upon this sentence in an article on bbc sport. There was a lot of people ... fact, many of my friends thought the same way.
- [nq:1]I stumbled upon this sentence in an article on bbc sport.
- There was a lot of people ...
- fact, many of my friends thought the same way.
- [/nq] 1 "There is" and "There was" are equally OK from thegrammatical point of view.
- 2.
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6 Answers
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[nq:1]I stumbled upon this sentence in an article on bbc sport. The sentence is ..There was a lot of people ... fact, many of my friends thought the same way. But, I think 'was' is correct because of the subsquent 'a'.[/nq]
1 "There is" and "There was" are equally OK from thegrammatical point of view.
2. Existential statements like this are usually unnecessary,thus bad style, cf. here
1 "There is" and "There was" are equally OK from thegrammatical point of view.
2. Existential statements like this are usually unnecessary,thus bad style, cf. here
00
[nq:1]I stumbled upon this sentence in an article on bbc sport. The sentence is ..There was a lot of people ... para is it correct to say lot of my friends, ie, can we use 'a lot' instead of 'many'? ninad[/nq]
Sounds like a mass - quantifier ? - and not a count quantifier (that can be counted = many = were )
There were many people who acted on anger
Never - *There were a many people wh
Sounds like a mass - quantifier ? - and not a count quantifier (that can be counted = many = were )
There were many people who acted on anger
Never - *There were a many people wh
00
[nq:2]I stumbled upon this sentence in an article on bbc ... ie, can we use 'a lot' instead of 'many'? ninad[/nq]
[nq:1]Sounds like a mass - quantifier ? - and not a count quantifier (that can be counted = many = ... who acted on anger. A lot of my friends.. Many of my friends.. never - *A many of my friends[/nq]
Although the sentences
There was many a man who acted on anger
There
[nq:1]Sounds like a mass - quantifier ? - and not a count quantifier (that can be counted = many = ... who acted on anger. A lot of my friends.. Many of my friends.. never - *A many of my friends[/nq]
Although the sentences
There was many a man who acted on anger
There
00
[nq:2]I stumbled upon this sentence in an article on bbc ... I think 'was' is correct because of the subsquent 'a'.[/nq]
[nq:1]1 "There is" and "There was" are equally OK from the grammatical point of view. 2. Existential statements like this ... lot of people acted on anger..." The colloquial "a lot" suggests this may have been an oral comment transcribed later.[/nq]
"A lot of" always tak
[nq:1]1 "There is" and "There was" are equally OK from the grammatical point of view. 2. Existential statements like this ... lot of people acted on anger..." The colloquial "a lot" suggests this may have been an oral comment transcribed later.[/nq]
"A lot of" always tak
00
[nq:1]I stumbled upon this sentence in an article on bbc sport. The sentence is ..There was a lot of people ... previous para is it correct to say lot of my friends, ie, can we use 'a lot' instead of 'many'?[/nq]
It depends on what you want to say. "A lot of Xs" with the plural verb means "many Xs"; with the singular, it means "a parcel of Xs", "a number of Xs considered as a unit". One lot of
It depends on what you want to say. "A lot of Xs" with the plural verb means "many Xs"; with the singular, it means "a parcel of Xs", "a number of Xs considered as a unit". One lot of
00
[nq:1]I stumbled upon this sentence in an article on bbc sport. The sentence is ..There was a lot of people ... para is it correct to say lot of my friends, ie, can we use 'a lot' instead of 'many'? ninad[/nq]
"A lot" can mean "many" or "much", depending on the context.
"I did a lot of work yesterday" (a lot of=much)
"I have read a lot of books recently (a lot of=many)
Wh
"A lot" can mean "many" or "much", depending on the context.
"I did a lot of work yesterday" (a lot of=much)
"I have read a lot of books recently (a lot of=many)
Wh
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