A Lot of Trouble Alot Versus A Lot

A Lot of Trouble! Alot Versus A Lot Versus Allot

A Lot of Trouble • “A lot” is the correct spelling • Alot is NOT a word. • A lot means “a large number. ” • Allot means “to parcel out. ” (to give) • Mrs. Sullivan gave us a lot of homework. (“a” is an article and “lot” is a noun). • Mrs. Sullivan will allot us fifty minutes to complete the test. (will allot is the verb). • Tomorrow: Affect Versus Effect

Affect Versus Effect • • Affect is a verb. • Usually means “to influence” or “to change. ” • The rain affected our plans. Affect can also mean “to act in a way that you don’t feel. ” • She affected an air of superiority.

Affect Versus Effect • Effect can be used as a verb or a noun, but it is usually used as a noun. • As a noun, it has many subtle meanings • “a result” seems to be the most common meaning. • The effect was eye-popping. • The rain had no effect on our plans. • The sound effects were amazing.

Memory Trick • • Remember this sentence: The raven flew down the avenue. Aven appears in both of the words raven and avenue. A= affect, V=verb, E=effect, N=noun. Remember AVEN to help you remember affect is a verb and effect is a noun. Only about 5% of the time is effect used as a verb.

Effect as a Verb • Effect can be used as a verb that essentially means the following: • “to bring about” • “to accomplish” • Mrs. Sullivan hoped to effect changes in the way her students studied.

Another Memory Trick • Because effect is usually a noun, it means you can put an article (a, an, the) in front of it, and it will make sense. • The effect was eye-popping. • He kissed her for [the] effect. • In both of these cases, you can place “the” in front of effect without making the sentence sound weird. • The “the” is not needed in the second sentence, but it does not ruin the sentence.

Another Memory Trick • Look what happens when we try to place “the” before the word affect in the following sentences: • The eye-popping arrow affects everyone that way. • The eye-popping arrow {the} affects everyone that way. • The kiss affected her. • The kiss {the} affected her.

A Final Trick • • Try to remember that the article “the” ends with an “e, ” and the noun “effect” begins with an “e. ” The two “e’s” butt up against one another: • The effect was eye-popping. • You will only use the article “the” before the noun effect because the function of “the” is to point out a noun, or announce that the next word (unless an adjective comes next) will be a noun. • Source: Grammar Girl