This week's question from Violet is about the phrase 許多。What’s the difference between 'a lot of' and 'a lot'?

Yang Li and William Kremer explain that although the basic meaning of both phrases are the same, the grammar and usage are slightly different.

Look at the following dialogue to see how they are used:

Li:Hi Sarah! Do you fancy going for a coffee today? Sarah 想一起喝杯咖啡嗎？

Sarah:Oh, I'd love to but I don't really havea lot of time today because I'm going on holiday on Monday and desperately need to pack this afternoon. 想到是想，不過今天我沒有多少時間，因為我周一去度假，下午得趕緊準備行李。

Li: No problem! But do you really have a lotto pack? 沒關系，不過你有很多東西要打包嗎？

Sarah: Yes, lots! I have a young baby and need to take a lot of things with me. 是很多東西！我有個嬰兒，需要帶很多東西。

Li: Ah, it sounds as though you have a lot on your plate today. Hope the packing goes well. Have a lovely holiday! 聽上去你手里的活兒可不少，好好準備，祝你假期愉快。

Sarah: Thank you!謝了。

Notice there is a noun following the phrase 'a lot of'. 只要使用 a lot of, 那么在of的后面一定要跟名詞或代詞，否則句子不完整。

With 'a lot' and 'lots' you don't need to have a noun or pronoun. 在以上三個句子中 a lot 和 lots 后面不需要名詞或代詞，因為其本身就是名詞，意思是許多東西，許多事情。

We hope that the above examples help give you a better idea of how these phrases are used but as always, our advice is to read as widely as possible to improve your sense of when to use them appropriately.

If you have a question about English, email it to questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. We might answer it on this programme.

Glossary 詞匯

usage 用法

slightly different 稍有不同

desperately 急切地

to pack 打包；準備行裝

to have a lot on one’s place手里的事太多