A LOT vs ALLOT: spelling tips to help you remember the difference

The words A LOT and ALLOT are easy to confuse because they’re homophones – words that sound the same but mean different things. Besides the difference in word class, there are important differences in their meanings, which you don’t want to mess up!

Here are my simple tips to remember the difference between A LOT and ALLOT.

When to use A LOT

A LOT can be an adverb or a noun.

It refers to a large quantity and is synonymous with ‘plenty’. As a noun, it’s used in a sentence like this:

“There’s A LOT to remember!”

Note that it refers to the quantity alone, not what there is A LOT of. As an adverb, it’s used in a sentence like this:

“There’s A LOT of information to remember.”

In this case, ‘information’ is the noun and A LOT specifies how much information there is.

When to use ALLOT

ALLOT is a verb, commonly used with words like ‘time’.

It means to give a share of something for a particular purpose. You can use it in a sentence like this:

“You should ALLOT an appropriate amount of time to digest this information.”

Pro tip

Don’t confuse A LOT and ALLOT with ALOT. ALOT is a common misspelling of A LOT and ALLOT but it’s not a word.

Now you know the difference between A LOT and ALLOT! I hope these tips help you to remember the difference between these commonly confused words in the future.

Get more tips in The Little Book of Confusables