There were a lot of people vs there were many people

Both phrases are correct and commonly used in English. They can be used interchangeably to describe a large number of people. The choice between 'a lot of' and 'many' is a matter of personal preference or style.

Last updated: March 27, 2024 • 2505 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate a large number of people.

"There were a lot of people"

This phrase is used to describe a large quantity of people in a casual or informal context.

Examples:

There were a lot of people at the concert last night.
There were a lot of people waiting in line for the new iPhone release.
There were a lot of people at the beach on a sunny day.
There were a lot of people in the park enjoying the nice weather.
There were a lot of people in the audience cheering for the performers.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 15, 2024

Jan 2, 2019 ... Use "There were a lot of people" because "people" is a countable noun. If you were talking of an uncountable noun, you would use was, eg. "There ...
May 8, 2024 ... "There were a lot of people, so I didn't have enough space to play." Grammar / Syntax. Is this sentence grammatically correct? I am ...
Aug 10, 2008 ... There were a lot of people in there. Does "to be" accord with "a lot" or with "people"? I would think the first one but my computer gives me ...
Dec 16, 2014 ... I noticed there were a lot of people posting the night sky on Route 120 in ORAS, so I tried my hand at it. · Comments Section · Community Info ...
Nov 7, 2017 ... there WERE a lot of people or there WAS a lot of people ? · There were alot of people · were. "Was" is used for singular past tense.
Aug 5, 2024 ... 180 likes, 1 comments - rudyfrancisco on August 5, 2024: "Since there were a lot of people on the waitlist who couldn't get tickets to the ...
Aug 19, 2024 ... But there were a lot of people who didn't do good things, and I had some friends who got caught up in that. My parents helped keep me away ...
Aug 16, 2024 ... When I crowdfunded Godspell 13 years ago, I was testing a thesis. I believed there were a lot of people out there interested in investing in ...

Alternatives:

there were many people
there were numerous people
there were a large number of people
there were crowds of people
there were throngs of people

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate a large number of people.

"there were many people"

This phrase is used to describe a significant quantity of people in a more formal or precise context.

Examples:

There were many people at the conference.
There were many people gathered in the town square.
There were many people in the museum admiring the artwork.
There were many people attending the event.
There were many people waiting for the bus.

Show examples from the web [+]

I'm saying there were many people at the party.
On the street there were many people.
I remember that when we go super why there were many people outside, and the stadium was in the rich part of Jakarta, where politicians and the rich lived.
There were many people who believed in my talent, like my first teacher,...
There were many people, relatives, who came to hold his hand.
At his sides, there were many people.
And there were many people infected, and she became a stranger.
Just like in Germany... there were many people who did not want to see.
Five years ago, there were many people who said that the Community institutions and bodies did not pay much heed to European Parliament.
There were many people in town.
There were many people in Bahu when the murders occurred.
There were many people gathering shell fish.
There were many people in Bahu when the murders occurred.
There were many people who helped you!
There were many people who optimistically expected that Barack Obama would bring about major changes and travel to Copenhagen.

Alternatives:

there were a lot of people
there were numerous people
there were a large number of people
there were crowds of people
there were throngs of people

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There were a lot of people vs there were many people