Why don't people realize that "alot" is really two words and should be a lot?

Answer 1

Because due to the dynamic and ever-changing nature of language, both spellings are now considered correct, though a lot is the 'preferred' spelling for formal, written English.

Answer 2

I believe some such mistakes have become acceptable in correspondence and should only bother us if we are teaching; such mistakes from students would not be tolerable. However if the mistake is in a letter etc. then it really does not matter; if the person who wrote the business letter etc. is close by, we can have a word with them politely, asking them if they know they made a mistake or whether the letter was composed in a hurry. If the person is remote, it really does not matter because as long as we comprehend the meaning, grammatical errors should be tolerated.
Tolerance is the supreme lesson of education, if we like to call our selves educated; what we are taught in college does not take long to be forgotten, but tolerance stays with us, if we find it.
Cheers.

Answer 3

Well, since you asked, there is evidence that in people's mental knowledge of English, this is one word. While this phrase may have started as two words, it has probably become one word in the minds of native speakers of English over time. The spelling system always lags behind our mental knowledge, so perhaps the spelling system is finally catching up to this linguistic change.

And please don't criticize people's use of language. You may not realize it, but criticizing others' use of language is actually a form of discrimination against people, and it really bothers me.

Answer 4

To a lot of people, the expression often just looks odd as two words because when it is used to mean "much" (as in "I like that a lot"), it doesn't word for word mean anything. ( A LOT of like---what the heck is that! Just what constitutes a lot, a lot of how much, how many? So how many likes are there in a lot?)
A similar problem exists with "all right" and "alright." For example: "Everything is all right!" Alright, now pick that one apart.

Answer 5

I think (alot) a lot of people just write in a hurry and don't do spell check. There are lots of ways that the English language is butchered.

Answer 6

languages change like this. It's not that far off.
If you can't deal with real English, I suggest you try going back to Old English - though I doubt you could effectively get through your first paragraph in an hour. Ever seen old English?

Answer 7

convinced, I agree. Even in Canada we are saying that individuals do not communicate the same language. all of us have diverse meanings for issues. yet another social gathering is the french spoken in Paris is amazingly diverse from that spoken in Quebec, Canada. i imagine all of us make a version of English. I nevertheless believe that the British communicate real English! ?D

Answer 8

Maybe the same reason you say .. - realize
and the English Australian dictionary says - realise.

Different cultures.. Different spelling..
Sorry we don't all use the American Dictionary.

Get over it. at least its better than some of the shortened words used within chat and yahoo.

Answer 9

It's a common spelling/grammar mistake. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's statistics that prove this. However, I wouldn't be so hard on people typing because we all try to get our answers in so quickly spelling/grammar errors are understandable...

Answer 10

just like a lot of people don't know the difference between 'effect' and 'affect'

just human nature NOT to know everything!