Steve,

    I forget where I read this (recently), but there can be cultural differences in how structures like this are conceptualized. For the British, it would be common to say "the team are ready," because "team" is conceived of as a number of individuals. In the U.S., "The team is ready" is standard.

    If "a lot of knives" is cognate with "a big pile of knives," then the singular would be called for. If it's cognate with "a great many knives," then we would expect the plural.

   I think frequency is a huge influence. If we keep hearing "the team is," we conceptualize the team as a unit. If we hear "the team are," we conceptualize "team" as made up of individuals.

    If we think of knives as being in a drawer, I think it's hard to think of them as a single "lot". If we say "that is a lot of knives," then the focus is on the fact that the number is large (with the notion that these are "knives" as given). We could say "That is a lot" and leave "the knives". It's hard for me to think of a context in which "that are a lot" would feel right.

   Is the head of the noun phrase "knives," with "a lot of" as determiner? Is the head of the noun phrase "lot," with "of knives" as prepositional modifier? If your instinct is shared by other people, we could conclude that the answer varies by context.

Craig
________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Benton, Steve <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, February 29, 2016 4:46 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: A lot of


Which two of the following four options would you recommend?

a)      That is a lot of knives.

b)      Those are a lot of knives.

c)       A lot of knives is in the drawer.

d)      A lot of knives are in the drawer.



My ear recommends a) and d), but my brain is struggling to explain the principle that governs this usage question.



Your insights are welcome,



Steve Benton, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of English and Languages

East Central University

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