It’s a lot of fun to travel around the United States.
There are lots of interesting things to see.
The word of is often reduced.
We write: a lot of
We say: /ə-ˈla-də/
We write: lots of
We say: /ˈla-tsə/
a lot of skyscrapers
lots of skyscrapers
a lot of tourists
lots of tourists
a lot of historic monuments
lots of historic monuments
a lot of football
lots of football
a lot of football fans
lots of football fans
a lot of farms
lots of farms
a lot of animals
lots of animals
a lot of cowboys
lots of cowboys
a lot of beautiful scenery
lots of beautiful scenery
a lot of roads and highways
lots of roads and highways
When the preposition of is not reduced…
we say: /ə-ˈla-dəv/
we say: /ˈla-tsəv/
Note:
We write: a lot of
We can write: a lotta
We write: lots of
We can write: lotsa
Written reduced forms … lotta … lotsa … reflect natural spoken language.
They are only for personal writing, such as emails to family or friends.
They are not standard written English.