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Thank you for [...]. It means lot!

Thank you for [...]. It means a lot!

Can the first sentence be used instead of the second one when wanting to give the word a different value than the one in its original version (as in the case with few/a few)?

I'm aware that it can mean the meaning of the word "lot" in its structure with no-article.

Ngrams shows a less usage of it is few compared to it is a few, and it presents kind of similar plot for it is lot and it is a lot, so does that mean it exists without the preceding article?

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The answer is this:

to mean a lot [to someone]. The idiomatic expression requires the a. It does not mean so much without the a and is also not grammatical.

And to mean a lot to someone means the same thing as to mean so much [to someone]. To mean a lot or so much are adverbs. They modify the verb to mean.

few and a few are adjectives:

Few people [not many] like this movie. A few [some] people like this movie.

A few and few usually pair up with: there are,not: it is.

You would see: There are a few people here. or: There are few people here.

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  • Thank you, Lambie, for providing this nice answer! Does "It means a lot" convey the same meaning of the idiomatic expression you have provided? And what about the results in Ngram regarding the [lot/a lot]? Why did it show that plot of the existence of such a phrase? May 11, 2019 at 16:29
  • Yes, to mean a lot is: It means a lot to me [that you responded so politely].
    – Lambie
    May 11, 2019 at 22:23
  • It appeared that the result Ngrams showed about "it is lot" was about the name Lot since I didn't check the box of the "case sensitive" option. May 12, 2019 at 12:50
  • @Tazneen ZH Well, that would be: It is Lot [...]. Anyway, many would disagree with me but I think whether something is idiomatic or not can only be seen in native speakers of any language. Cheers.
    – Lambie
    May 12, 2019 at 14:52
  • Lambie, yes, it should have been "...Lot", not "...lot" as such structure doesn't exist. But since I have searched about it specifically and didn't check the "case sensitive" box, Ngrams included the results of "..Lot". I didn't realize that until later after you had inserted your first reply. May 12, 2019 at 15:54

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