pronoun
1
See LOT (↑ lot )/LOTS
2
BAD : My husband and I met each other a lot of years ago.
GOOD : My husband and I met each other many years ago.
BAD : The problem is that for a lot of years smoking was not considered to be anti-social.
GOOD : The problem is that for many years smoking was not considered to be anti-social.
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many + weeks/months/years (NOT a lot of ): 'Many years have passed since we were at school together.'
Compare: 'During the summer we spend a lot of time in the garden.'
3
BAD : There is a lot of countries in the same situation.
GOOD : There are a lot of countries in the same situation.
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See note at THERE 2 (↑ there )