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Pedants' corner

"alot" when people mean "a lot"

30 replies

QOFE · 22/07/2023 14:39

I'm seeing this more and more. It can't even be down to autocorrect as "alot" isn't even a blooming word!

Is anyone else noticing this creeping in as one word instead of two?

OP posts:
Strik · 22/07/2023 14:45

It’s been here for years! Awful, awful.

QOFE · 22/07/2023 14:49

Strik · 22/07/2023 14:45

It’s been here for years! Awful, awful.

Wierdly I've only started seeing it regularly in the last few months. I saw it rarely enough up until recently to assume it was a typo but now it's bloody everywhere!

OP posts:
Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 22/07/2023 14:51

I have such a battle with kids over this. In my classes, it’s this misspelling and ‘diffrent’ and ‘intresting’ that are most frequently misspelled. I think it’s to do with spoken English and dialect.

MaggieBsBoat · 22/07/2023 14:52

Language changes. As a linguist I welcome it and study it.
Also alot has been around since I was at school 30+ years ago

RubaiyatOfAnyone · 22/07/2023 14:52

I like this alot

"alot" when people mean "a lot"
Sweetashunni · 22/07/2023 14:53

Don’t get me started on ‘we was’. The thing is I’m sure they know it’s not correct but also don’t want to look too bright..

toochesterdraws · 22/07/2023 14:53

Ugh.

EileenBrysonsTeabags · 22/07/2023 14:55

@RubaiyatOfAnyone I like your MN alot-thread alot a lot.

MissJoGrant · 22/07/2023 14:56

QOFE · 22/07/2023 14:49

Wierdly I've only started seeing it regularly in the last few months. I saw it rarely enough up until recently to assume it was a typo but now it's bloody everywhere!

*weirdly

This is a forum for the pedantic after all! 😂

BatshitCrazyWoman · 22/07/2023 14:58

I've noticed 'aswel' (as well) creeping in too ...

MissJoGrant · 22/07/2023 15:00

These are the main ones I see:

Alot.

Definately.

Loose instead of lose (occasionally vice versa).

Women instead of woman (and vice versa).

Advise instead of advice.

iklboo · 22/07/2023 15:01

I've noticed 'aswel' (as well) creeping in too ...

Yes. It's happening quite abit 😄

Shitzngiggles · 22/07/2023 15:02

I'm seeing incase as well.

My sister uses alot, she used to be a teacher 😒.

WolfFoxHare · 22/07/2023 15:08

I’ve recently started seeing ‘abit’ which is also annoying.

kaymc3 · 22/07/2023 15:15

Someone I know also uses 'alittle' and 'abit' 😭 it does my head in because it happens alot 😜

QOFE · 22/07/2023 15:17

MissJoGrant · 22/07/2023 14:56

*weirdly

This is a forum for the pedantic after all! 😂

🤣

It is one word I am apparently incapable of getting right. The more I look at it the worse it gets, so I just take a guess and hope for the best every time 😬

OP posts:
QOFE · 22/07/2023 15:17

kaymc3 · 22/07/2023 15:15

Someone I know also uses 'alittle' and 'abit' 😭 it does my head in because it happens alot 😜

"alittle" 🤯

OP posts:
SageRosemary · 22/07/2023 15:22

Two fun ones I've seen here: -

Pedal stool for pedestal

Non shallot for nonchalant - I has my post deleted for politely pointing that one out, the OP was amused rather than offended and someone has purloined it for their user name.

The one that bugs me most is lose/loose - Always tempted to suggest "You might find that your belt is too loose when you manage to lose weight."

SageRosemary · 22/07/2023 15:24

And I smile when I see defiantly instead of definitely

Motheranddaughtertotwo · 22/07/2023 15:28

My current annoyance is that all of my friends are “on route” to their holiday destinations. 🤬🤬🤬

pamshortsbrokenbothherlegs · 22/07/2023 15:30

Alot has been around for decades. The comic posted upthread is at least 20 years old. A classic!

My latest pet peeve is incase, it's absolutely everywhere. I can't imagine everyone using it is meaning to refer to a line of protective cases for Apple gear... 😂

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 22/07/2023 16:02

Love these threads 🤣

HiCandles · 22/07/2023 16:07

Oh I hate this, see also abit. I told my mum this was incorrect after she kept sending it to me and she was genuinely surprised it wasn't a real word. She does read books and is fairly well educated so I was bemused how she'd never noticed it would be written as two words.

WhenIWasAFieldMyself · 28/07/2023 07:39

Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 22/07/2023 14:51

I have such a battle with kids over this. In my classes, it’s this misspelling and ‘diffrent’ and ‘intresting’ that are most frequently misspelled. I think it’s to do with spoken English and dialect.

As a teacher, surely you know that "alot" is simply a mistake while "intresting" etc is due to elided syllables?

WhenIWasAFieldMyself · 28/07/2023 07:40

SageRosemary · 22/07/2023 15:22

Two fun ones I've seen here: -

Pedal stool for pedestal

Non shallot for nonchalant - I has my post deleted for politely pointing that one out, the OP was amused rather than offended and someone has purloined it for their user name.

The one that bugs me most is lose/loose - Always tempted to suggest "You might find that your belt is too loose when you manage to lose weight."

You were deleted because it's deeply unpleasant to make fun of other people whose English might not be as good as your own.

If that's your idea of fun, then you're nothing but a bully.