Lots, a lot, plenty
We use lots, a lot and plenty in informal styles to talk about quantities, amounts and degree. Lots and a lot are similar in meaning to much and many. Plenty means ‘enough’ or ‘more than enough’. Lots is even more informal than a lot:
Lots, a lot, plenty with a noun
When we use lots, a lot or plenty with a noun, we need of: I’ve got lots of plans for today.
There’ll be a lot of your friends there.
There’s no need to rush. We’ve got plenty of time.
Not: We’ve got plenty time.
Lots, a lot, plenty without a noun
We usually leave out the noun after a lot, lots and plenty when the noun is obvious. When there is no following noun, we don’t use of:
A:
I haven’t got any money
B:
Don’t worry, I’ve gotplenty. (plenty of money)
She didn’t bring anything to eat but we’ve got lots anyway.
Not: … but we’ve got lots of anyway.
Formal styles: a great deal of, a good deal of, a large number
We prefer to use expressions like a great deal of (+ singular uncountable nouns) or a large number of (+ plural nouns) in more formal styles: There’s a great deal of truth in what he said.
From here, a large number of roads led back to various parts of the city.
See also:
Much, many, a lot of, lots of: quantifiers
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