Alot
Alot is a misspelling of a lot. It's not considered a word and should not be used in formal writing.
A lot
A lot means a large number or amount.
A lot is a collocation—any combination of two or more words that go together so consistently that they can be treated like one word, e.g. nuclear disarmament.
It can take up two different grammatical roles in English:
(1) A lot can act as a quantifier, such as in a lot of water, or a lot of people, similarly to phrases like a cup of coffee, or a crowd of people.
In this case, technically, it is a noun phrase, as it appears to be, like a cup (of . . .), a box (of . . .), a bunch (of . . .), etc., where originally, the word lot meant “a share of something” or “a portion of something” and it can still be used this way in old-fashioned English. Lot also has other old-fashioned meanings related to “share,” referring to a kind of vote, or to a person’s fate. Just remember that a lot of . . . works exactly like a bunch of . . . .
A lot used as a quantifier: Don’t spend a lot of time worrying about word origins!
(2) A lot can also be used as an adverb, with the same meaning as the quantifier:
A lot as an adverb: We like you a lot. Do you want to hang out a lot with us?
Notice that this is used similarly to adverbs like awhile and apart. But a lot remains a lot, not alot! There is no logical reason for this inconsistency in English spelling. Some phrases change more slowly than others. A while changed into awhile over time, but a lot has yet to change.
Allot
Allot means to give someone or something a share of something or to divide something into shares.
Each speaker is allotted fifteen minutes to speak.
The school allots the classrooms based on course enrollment.
While a lot can act as a quantifier or an adverb, allot is simply a verb (transitive).
More Examples of "A lot" Used in a Sentence
- I love a good home cooked meal, but I eat mostly fast food because I don’t have a lot of free time.
- I have to go now because I have a lot to do.
- There are a lot of things that I do not understand.
- I had a lot of enthusiasm when I was in my 20s.
- "I don't have a lot of money," she stuttered, embarrassingly looking downward.
- The story has a lot less tension now that he knows she’s not coming.
- You need to catch a lot of fish before you hibernate for the winter.
- A lot of people spend a lot of time in the bathroom.
- A lot of people think that I'm lying.
- I will not be able to do a lot of things when I get older.
- I am going to get a lot of work done today.
- A lot of people will try to get your attention.
- It's been a lot of fun this year.
- I'm going to get a lot done today.
- It will take a lot of money to buy
- A lot of people don't know this about him, but he was actually a very nice guy.
- It was a lot of work to get everything ready for the family reunion.
- I have been doing a whole lot without getting anything done.
More Examples of "Allot" Used in a Sentence
- I was given a set amount of time to finish my task and I allotted the appropriate amount of time to each task.
- If I don't allot enough time to each task, I'm going to finish all of my tasks late.
- I allotted my time poorly and now I have no more time left.
- Every morning, I allot myself an hour of exercise.
- The government allotted the city two million dollars for the project.
- The allotment of food was not enough for the whole group, so they had to ration it.
- We were allotted a seat in the back of the plane, but we wanted to sit up front.
- At their individual discretion, the Council on Foreign Relations may allot $5,000 for travel, $5
- We need to increase the allotment of family seats by 50%.
- The school's allotted funds for books to the school's library took the librarian by surprise.