Usage tip: a lot vs. "alot" vs. allot

Some commonly confused pairs are beaten to within an inch of their lives in countless reference books, classrooms, blogs, and online forums, and yet they refuse to die. The a lot vs. allot pair (not trio, as we will see) seems to be one of these. Since so many good discussions of this usage problem already exist, I haven't talked about it on Word-wise before. But...having seen in the past few days a handful more examples of the confusion, perhaps the time has come for me to throw my version of the lesson into the enormous mix.

a lot (the two-word phrase used as a single adj) an unspecified number, usually assumed to be rather large; multiple; many
Ex: There are a lot of good reasons to hire a proofreader.

allot (v) to reserve, appoint, or set aside for a particular purpose
Ex: The supervisor alloted two hours per week for Joe to do nothing but proofread.

Notice that "alot" is not in the list. That's because "alot" does not exist in standard English. And that's the main crux of the lesson: All too often, when a person means a lot, what s/he writes instead is the incorrect "alot."

Remember it this way: One of the definitions of the noun lot (without the a in front) is "group" or "set." You can have a group or a set (two separate words each), and thus you can also have a lot (two words):

We ordered a lot of mixed feed for the livestock.

But one could not order "agroup" or "aset" of feed (or anything else), and thus would not have "alot" of them, either.

Also remember that you can't add a modifier to the middle of a single standard English word*, but you CAN put a modifier between separate words. A sentence like this

We ordered a large lot of corn and a small lot of hay for the livestock.

could not exist as such if "alot" were the correct option.

What are your best tips for remembering this persistent error, readers? Please share!

*In casual English, there is a phenomenon known as "infixing" wherein an exclamatory or emphatic word or word part is inserted in a word instead of attached at beginning or end (as a prefix or affix would be). The result is humorous, colorful, or ironic. A well-worn example of this is the descriptor "fan-freaking-tastic." (Read more about infixing in one of my favorite English language-study blogs here.)