Many Versus A Lot

Perfect synonyms are almost impossible to find, words may have a similar definition, yet they have a different effect on the reader and on the whole written outcome. We can see this in David Crystal’s blog On Many, where he shows us how the word “many” has a different use than the word “a lot” depending on the subject you are talking about and the nouns accompanying the modifier. A correspondent asked him, “Does many actually refer to a different number from a lot of?” (David Crystal, On Many) to which David responded that there are different cases in which you can use these words without making the tone change between the modifier and the noun. The use of many in situations such as many hybrid cars gives a notion that is, “perhaps a mite too downmarket for an upmarket quantifier, as would be many hiccups, many flutters (on the races), and so on, where one of the lot constructions would be the usual quantifier.” (David Crystal, On Many) This ends up being in a discussion of the tone of each word and how it affects the reader and the overall tone of the written piece in a specific way when written beside other words. The choice of using a word is something you acquire as you explore the language through its history and the use of each independent word which changes between the different cultures and regions. The flow of the sentences, the overall outcome is what matters, not the independent words. Think of a recipe, each ingredient adds something special and unique, in more than one way, to the overall dish.