<h1>prepositional,adverbial and spoken uses of "about"</h1><h2>Uso preposicional,adverbial y hablado de "about"</h2>

ABOUT

This lesson will be focused on the use of “about” as a preposition, an adverb or spoken uses. We will also include some common mistakes related with “about” after verbs.

Use of ABOUT as preposition:

-The typical use of about as a preposition is “on the subject of”.

He felt quite optimistic about the recovery of his father.

I’ve already told you what I feel about that meeting.

I’m not pretty sure about that.

What kind of wild rumours were going on about it?

-Can be used as a synonym of around or round.

Kids are playing about the playpen the whole afternoon.

-About  in comparison with on is used as a preposition for talking from general perspective and not into a more detailed point of view.

He read about Isaac Asimov.

He read on the  science fiction novel the Second Foundation.

 

Use of ABOUT as an adverb:

We use it in expressions of time, number or quantity. Primarily used in spoken than in written English. The perfect synonym of about as adverb is around.

We had already met about ten years ago.

He was about 2 metres when he began to play basketball.

*In just some particular cases about is used without a complement.

Is Peter about?  * This about can be referred, as well to somewhere as specific like home as somewhere as indistinct as a country.

With this hot weather there are a lot of mosquitoes about at the moment.

 

Spoken uses of ABOUT:

-When the speaker wants to head conversation for a subject of her/his interest.

About that vacation house, do you still want to sell it?

-The expression “what about” trying out to appeal listener’s attention : IWhat about the new unemployment rates  for States in U.S?

-In order to make suggestions we can use: What about, how about.

How about a giant popcorn bowl? *we can also use in an informal context how’s about .

 

COMMON MISTAKE:

About is employed after complain but NEVER after discuss:

Customers complained about the third in a row rise of prices.

Customers discussed about the new prices.

Customers discussed the new pieces.

But if we have a noun instead a verb…

Discussions about prices…

 

As always, feel free to share any doubt or comment