"a lot of people IS" or "a lot of people ARE"??

Question

i've seen people use both but which one is the currect way, is or are? i think IS is correct since we are referring to "a" lot (of people) instead of many lots.

this is weird. Then how about when i say a group of people? Would it still be "A group of people ARE"? But if we take out "of people" it becomes "A group IS"?

OR maybe it doesn't really matter, and could work both ways?

Answer 1

You are correct about the GENERAL rule -- when you use an expression "a group [OR groups] of people" it IS the word group(s) that determines whether the verb used. That's why you say, "A large group of people WAS standing outside the door."

But "a lot of" (and "lots of") is not the same as "group".

There is a set of expressions called "deteminers" that do no function as independent nouns and so do NOT decide the number of the verb. The expressions of quantity, "a lot of' and "lots of" are examples of these expressions called "determiners."

It helps to note that this pair of expressions are informal substitutes with "much" and "many." When substituting for "much" --before nouns that are NOT counted (e.g., 'furniture', 'money') they take the singular verb form(just as "much" does). When used in place of "many" (before plural nouns), they take the plural verb form. Thus:

"There ARE a lot of books [plural] on the table." (=> response: "How MANY *are* there?")
"There ARE a lot of people [plural]." (same response; note that we treat "people" as a plural noun)
"There IS a lot of money in this wallet!" (=> "How MUCH *is* there?")
http://www.udel.edu/eli/grammar2.html

see also http://www.orangutanenglish.com/English%20Grammar%20Guide%202.htm#determiners
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002990.html

Answer 2

The correct usage is "a lot of people ARE." This is because "a lot" is an informal phrase that functions as an adjective, meaning "many." ("Of" has only been thrown in out of necessity--so it would make sense.) So, it's as if we're saying "Many people are." We are not referring to a lot that is filled with people, as a parking lot (which would be a noun). In your example, "lot" is not the subject of the verb--"people" is.

The reason that "IS" would be used in a phrase such as "a group of people IS" is because "group" is a noun, it is singular, and it is the subject of the verb. In this case, we are speaking of a single group that is composed of many people. The easiest way to see this is to remove the phrase "of people" and use the verb that fits the subject. "A group...IS..."

Incidentally, unlike one of your responders, I would NEVER use a plural verb with collective nouns such as "team" or "family" without first adding a word like "members" to the sentence. E.g., "The team IS coming to practice this afternoon" or "The team MEMBERS ARE coming to practice this afternoon" would both be correct; but "The team ARE coming" would not. "My family IS coming over for dinner" or "My family MEMBERS ARE coming over for dinner" would be correct; but "My family ARE coming" would be incorrect.

Answer 3

To your first question: the verb does refer to the singular "a lot", but here one should appeal to the greater good of sounding normal. Use "are". "A lot of people" is idiomatic and should be treated as a plural phrase.

To your follow-up question: "a group of people" refers more directly to the "group" than "a lot of people" refers to the "lot", so in every case I can think of, "is" should be used. "Group" and "lot" mean essentially the same thing here, but their usage in the noun phrases calls for different verbs.

Strunk & White's Elements of Style presents the definitive common-sense approach to grammar. It gives its reader the confidence to make distinctions like these.

Answer 4

Collective nouns can take singular or plural verbs depending on the meaning. If you are talking about individual group members acting separately, use the plural form of the verb.
"The team have gone their separate ways"
"My family are strange and curious people"

If you are talking about the group as one unit, use the singular form of the verb.
"The team wins each match easily"
"My family lives in a yellow submarine"

A collective noun number may be singular or plural.
A number is plural; the number is singular.
"A lot of people are confused by the rules"
"The number of confused people is growing daily"

A lot of people are now informed

Answer 5

A lot of people means many people, so that's plural and we should use ARE. But actually we shouldn't be using 'a lot' to describe people - a lot is used for something that you cannot count, for example a lot of sugar is used, or a lot of time is spent. For people, we should use many

Answer 6

"A lot" is always used when referring to more than one thing/person. So yeah, it's ARE :)

"Of people" isn't really important because it's a prepositional phrase, so you can get rid of it to make it easier. But in this case, it helps, cause "people" is also always used when talking about more than one person.

Answer 7

"A lot of people are"---is the correct way
Only when the sentence is singular would you use "is,"
like when speaking of one person. My brother is.../ My sister is...

By the way, I am a hillbilly and proud of it, not ALL hillbillies are ignorant and it was ignorant of you to stereotype, graduatecj08!!

Answer 8

lot of people-plural

person-singular

Here's the rule:
If the subject is singular, you use "is". If the subject is plural, you use "are"/

A lot of people are...
The person is...


P.S. Don't listen to Talos John John. "A lot"= two separate words.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alot

Answer 9

a lot of people are = is the correct way

Answer 10

"ALOT of people are" is correct... Alot is one word...

If you are using it as a LOT of people... Then the correct word would be is... as you are refering to one lot... one group... but it is weird to group people using the word lot....