Plenty of vs. a lot of

Via my referrer logs, a question from Slovakia: what's the difference between "Plenty of" and "A lot of"?

"A lot of" just means "a large quantity", or "much".

"Plenty of" is similar, but also implies that the quantity on hand is sufficient, or more than sufficient.

As in: "We've got plenty of beer in the house. We won't need to go to the store and get more."

Also sometimes used to indicate that the quantity on hand should be sufficient, even if it isn't!

As in: "You've had plenty of time, so why aren't you finished yet?" 

¶ 8/04/2009 09:39:00 PM