a lot

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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azz
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a lot

Post by azz »

a. He was beaten up a lot last night in that fight in the bar.
b. If you squeeze the tube a lot, maybe some toothpaste will come out of it.


Are the above sentences correct?

The idea in (b) is that if you squeeze it really hard, maybe some toothpaste will come out of it.
I think that is not what it means. I think here 'a lot' means a great number of times.

Many thanks.
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Alan
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Re: a lot

Post by Alan »

Grammatically possible, but, especially, the first, very unidiomatic.

(Sorry but we don't comment on meaning here!)
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