# a lot is



## Johanne

Bonjour!

Que veut dire *a lot is* dans la phrase ci-dessous? Nombre de? On parle de changements du moteur dans la phrase qui la précède. Je connais a lot of, mais non a lot is.

*A lot is* about the new engine this year, but Harley-Davidson has also added a six-speed cruise drive gear box and fuel injection on all the Softail models.

Merci!

Joh


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## Agnès E.

Je pense que cela signifie _*une grande partie concerne *le nouveau moteur_...

En effet, il ne s'agit pas de _a lot is_ mais de _a lot is about_.


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## catay

À mon avis, cette phrase n'est pas bien écrite.   "A lot of  ?" Peut-être "A lot _of this_ is about..." _("of this"_ fait référence à la phrase précédente).


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## catay

Bien expliqué, Agnès E. 

_*une grande partie concerne *le nouveau moteur = A lot of this is about_


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## Nicomon

Encore ici, si tu traduis les articles que je pense... _A lot is about_, en début de phrase, signifie à mon avis  « On parle beaucoup » / « On entend beaucoup parler » /  « Il est beaucoup question de... » ou enfin,  quelque chose dans le genre.


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## catay

Good point. 
In this case "a lot" should be followed by another verb or a noun/pronoun to avoid the ambiguity you witness here.

"A lot is _*said*_ about...." _On parle beaucoup_ comme Nicomon a dit.
"A lot (?of what) "
"A lot of ......._this article/this talk/it/this_... is about"


In other contexts the meaning of "a lot"  is apparent in the context of the sentence.

We went there a lot (many times).
There is a lot (many events, commitments) happening in her life right now.


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## RocketGirl

Hmmm... I see where you're all going with this, but I agree with your first post Catay. It's a poorly written sentence and now we're all just making guesses.


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## Cath.S.

Ne serait-ce pas utile de connaître la phrase précédente ?


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## catay

Alas, I have encountered the same phenomenon(typo, missing word) when reading something in French....sometimes being left high and dry and wondering if I've just encountered a new idiomatic expression or if I have completely missed the boat on the usage of something or other. It could well be a transcription error.


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## catay

> Ne serait-ce pas utile de connaître la phrase précédente ?


 
Oui, ce serait très utile. Johanne a mentionné que "On parle de changements du moteur dans la phrase qui la précède." Mais, en tout cas, il manque un mot.


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## Cath.S.

Trouvez-vous la phrase ci-dessous incorrecte ou incomplète ? Pas moi - mais je suis française, et ceci explique peut-être cela :

There were countless reasons why I wanted to start a business of my own. A lot is about self-realisation. I recognised that I have a huge drive and ambition to be successful within my chosen career. 
Souirce: http://business.bournemouth.ac.uk/people/graduates.html


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## RocketGirl

egueule said:


> There were countless reasons why I wanted to start a business of my own. A lot is about self-realisation.


 
It makes sense egueule, although it's not properly written. The second sentence is a sentence fragment, and anyway it should probably read "a lot *are*". You're most likely right, then, that we'll get the meaning from the previous sentence.


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## mgarizona

egueule said:


> Trouvez-vous la phrase ci-dessous incorrecte ou incomplète ? Pas moi - mais je suis française, et ceci explique peut-être cela :
> 
> There were countless reasons why I wanted to start a business of my own. A lot is about self-realisation. I recognised that I have a huge drive and ambition to be successful within my chosen career.
> Souirce: http://business.bournemouth.ac.uk/people/graduates.html


 
I do consider it incorrect, only because here the antecedent is 'reasons' and so 'Many' would fit in much better than 'a lot' does.

But your point is correct. Consider this hypothetical:

Much has been written about the new Harleys of late. A lot is about the new engine ...


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## catay

> There were countless reasons why I wanted to start a business of my own. _A lot is about self-realisation_.


Cette phrase n'est pas complètement habillée...elle n'a pas de sous-vêtements.... On peut la comprendre, mais "a lot (?de quoi) is"


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## Nicomon

egueule said:


> Ne serait-ce pas utile de connaître la phrase précédente ?


 
Je n'ose pas reproduire un trop long bout du texte que suis à peu près certaine que Johanne traduit, mais je crois que la phrase qui précède immédiatement est:

_This is no small feat, but very welcome in the Harley community._


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## Cath.S.

Nicomon said:


> Je n'ose pas reproduire un trop long bout du texte que suis à peu près certaine que Johanne traduit, mais je crois que la phrase qui précède immédiatement est:
> 
> _This is no small feat, but very welcome in the Harley community._


Et celle qui précède la précédente ?


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## Nicomon

egueule said:


> Et celle qui précède la précédente ?


 
J'ai simplement « googlé » "A lot is about the new engine this year " et obtenu un seul résultat vers... cette page. C'est le 2e texte.


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## catay

Nicomon said:


> J'ai simplement « googlé » "A lot is about the new engine this year " et obtenu un seul résultat vers... cette page. C'est le 2e texte.


Et voilà...
Il semble que c'est le même texte. On y trouve un peu plus d'erreurs:

In 2007 Harley-Davidson’s objectives is (“objective is” or “objectives are”)...

This is no small feat, but very welcome in the Harley community. A lot is (_said?_) about the new engine this year…(_I’m still left guessing about what “a lot” refers to here. )_

The result is the long and low _looks_ (look)....


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## Cath.S.

Vu le contexte, je pense que je traduirais par 
_Une grande partie de cet enthousiasme est suscité par le nouveau moteur._


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## Coppers

A lot of the "latest news" about Harley Davidson.


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## Kelly B

The context is easier if you just post the link.. Can you say
Il s'agit en grand partie de...
?


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## catay

Coppers said:


> A lot of the "latest news" about Harley Davidson.


 A good possibility, Coppers. As I think "news" might be the missing link in the previous sentence:

This is no small feat, but very welcome (_news)_ in the Harley community


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## Coppers

I don't think it's about the 'feat', Catay.

It's something like: "It's all about the new engine this year, but in fact, they've also added a six speed cruise drive gear box ...".


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## multae gentes

egueule said:


> Vu le contexte, je pense que je traduirais par
> _Une grande partie de cet enthousiasme est suscité par le nouveau moteur._


Bravo egueule : ceci s'appelle améliorer un texte en le traduisant ...


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## clairet

On the general question, I think there are legitimate uses of "a lot is" in English.  It is actually used quite often in such statements as:

"Children's behaviour is worse than it used to be, and a lot is down to their parents' failure to bring them up properly."

i.e. it means "much of..(in this case, the cause)

However, although it is worth knowing that you will meet the phrase, I think the discussion makes clear that you would do well to avoid it if you want to be clear yourself!


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## Bostonien

I've read through the various objections and comments in this thread, but honestly I don't have a problem with the original sentence, largely because of the phrase "this year".

"A lot" here means that "A lot (of the buzz) is about the new engine this year..." or "A lot (of the talk/hype) is about the new engine this year..." It's a fairly common construction in magazines/articles for enthusiasts in a certain area (say, motorcyles...)


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## catay

Coppers said:


> I don't think it's about the 'feat', Catay.
> 
> It's something like: "It's all about the new engine this year, but in fact, they've also added a six speed cruise drive gear box ...".


Okay.  I didn't mean the feat itself.  I was referring to the news about the modifications to the Harley announced in the first sentence of this paragraph. I think the following sentence is vague enough. What is very welcome here?  The news about modifications to the bike?  The bike itself?  Or, possibly, both.

"This is no small feat, but very welcome .._news_.. in the Harley community. _It's all about the new engine this year, but in fact, they've also added a six speed cruise drive gear box_ ...".

"It's all about the..." Nicomon's good suggestion,_ On parle beaucoup, would fit well here..._
_or _
_Egueule's finely wrought phrase:_
__ 
_Une grande partie de cet enthousiasme est suscité par le nouveau moteur._


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## Coppers

catay said:


> ..What is very welcome here?


*
The buzz*, Bostonian said it.


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## catay

Bostonien said:


> "A lot" here means that "A lot (of the buzz) is about the new engine this year..." or "A lot (of the talk/hype) is about the new engine this year..." It's a fairly common construction in magazines/articles for enthusiasts in a certain area (say, motorcyles...)


A good explanation. Then why not state it explicitly?  Why reduce language to a decoding exercise?


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## Bostonien

Didn't you know? That's what sounding "cool" is all about! Reducing and/or changing the words so that they become harder and harder to understand!


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## Coppers

I'm not sure it's about being cool, Bostonian. "A lot of it" might be, but maybe it's just quickly / lazily written?


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## Bostonien

Coppers said:


> I'm not sure it's about being cool, Bostonian. "A lot of it" might be, but maybe it's just quickly / lazily written?


 
Possibly, but again because this construction is not uncommon, to me it just comes off as colloquial rather than lazy. To say "a lot is about the X this year" is a jazzy way of saying that something is in vogue, and when making such a statement I think it's natural to want to sound "cool" at the same time.

[EDIT] - "Cool" probably isn't the right word here. "Familiar" or "colloquial" describes the sentiment best, I think.


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## Nicomon

Kelly B said:


> The context is easier if you just post the link.. Can you say
> Il s'agit en grand partie de...
> ?


 
But I did! You may have missed post # 17.


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## Nicomon

Bostonien said:


> "A lot" here means that "A lot (of the buzz) is about the new engine this year..." or "A lot (of the talk/hype) is about the new engine this year..." It's a fairly common construction in magazines/articles for enthusiasts in a certain area (say, motorcyles...)


 
That's how I understood it. Hence my post # 5.  But I prefer egueule's version.


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