Difference Between A Lot and Lots
‘A lot’ and ‘lots’in English seem interchangeable , yet they are used with slight difference. One should know that ‘a lot’ is used to emphasize a comparative degree of an adjective. For example, ‘She looks a lot happier today.’ In this sentence, the word ‘a lot’ emphasize or modify the adjective comparative degree ‘happier’.
On the other hand, ‘lots’ is used often in affirmative statements. For example, ‘They played lots of matches that session.’This is not a negative but affirmative statement. ‘A lot’ is also used in affirmative statements. For example, ‘I write a lot in the evening.’ Thus, both ‘a lot’ and ‘lots’ are used in affirmative sentences. ‘a lot’ and ‘lot’ generally followed by the preposition ‘of’. ‘A lot’ can be used in combination with both sigular or plural nouns.
‘A lot’ seems singular while ‘lots’ of seems plural . But it is not so. Let us see. ‘A lot’ has a a plural verb such as ‘are’, ‘were’, ‘have’ etc., when used with plural nouns. For example, ‘A lot of peple are leaving the village.’Here ‘a lot’ with a plural noun ‘people’ comes with a plural verb ‘are’. In the same manner ‘lots’ is used with a singular noun it takes the singular verb after it. For example, ‘lots of information is there to share whith you all.’ Here the verb is singular, that is ‘is’. All the difference is due to the noun followed by ‘A lot’ and ‘lots’.
In the same way when the expression ‘lots’ is used with a singular word, the verb too remains in singular as in the example, ‘There is lots of information to be known’. Observe the usage of the verb ‘is’ in singular when the expression ‘lots’ is used with a singular word, namely, information.