grammaticality - 'Consists of a lot of' or 'consists lot of'

"A lot" is commonly used in informal speech with the meaning "often".

I eat at that restaurant a lot.

I think about food a lot.

I think of you a lot.

I beat eggs with that beater a lot.

The phrase is often placed at the end of the sentence.

Placing the phrase directly after a verb may also work.

I think a lot about food.

For certain verbs or prepositional phrases, it may result in coupling which will confuse the sentence's meaning.

I eat a lot at that restaurant. (emphasis on the amount of food or frequency of eating is unclear)

I think a lot of you. (emphasis on my high opinion of you or the frequency of thinking is unclear)

In other cases, it may result in a sentence for which the meaning would not be instantly decipherable by native English speakers.

I beat a lot eggs with that beater. (does not instantly convey the same meaning as "I beat eggs with that beater a lot.")

Regarding the OP's question:

• If the intended emphasis is on the amount of manual labor, the second sentence should be used.




• If the intended emphasis is on the frequency of which farming consists of manual labor, and sentence clarity is not a priority, the first sentence should be used.




• If the intended emphasis is on the frequency of which farming consists of manual labor, and sentence clarity is a priority, a new sentence should be considered.

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