about
part of speech
preposition (about the dog); adverb (about 10, run about, be about to); adjective (up and about)
meaning for a pupil
1) About tells what something is on or what it is to do with: a book about dinosaurs. tree →
2) About can also mean nearly or roughly, as in «about 10». tree →
3) About can mean here and there, all around a place: children running about the yard. tree →
4) «Be about to» means be just going to do something: I was about to call you. tree →
5) «Up and about» means out of bed and active again after being ill. tree →
6) (casual) «What's that about?» or «What's he on about?» asks what someone means or why they are acting oddly; «What about …?» and «How about …?» make a suggestion. tree →
7) (formal) In the exam voice «about» is replaced by stiff words: «concerning», «regarding», «in respect of», «pertaining to»; «approximately» replaces «about 10». tree →
sense in the lessons
links a remark to its topic; in the lessons it names what a set of words or a problem is telling us («This problem is about sharing»); in maths «about» marks an estimate («about 10», «roughly», «approximately»); in everyday life «what is it about?», «talk about», «think about», «worry about», «be about to», «how about pizza?»; in casual talk «what are you on about?» (what do you mean?), «that's what it's all about», «about time!» (at last, said when someone is late); in the exam voice «concerning», «with regard to», «approximately»; in stories «a story about a brave girl»
examples
- The words «each», «every» and «packs of» tell us about equal groups. tree →
- The story is about Mia and her 12 stickers. tree →
- This problem is about sharing 20 grapes among 4 friends. tree →
- There are about 30 children in our class. tree →
- We read a book about sharks and whales. tree →
- The train leaves in about ten minutes. tree →
- Don't worry about the test; you have practised. tree →
- I was just about to call you! tree →
- The puppies ran about the garden all morning. tree →
- what are you on about, it's 12 not 20 tree →
- About time! The bloody bus is finally here. tree →
- Determine approximately how many pupils are present, given that 3 of the 32 enrolled pupils are absent. tree →
- What do you think about it?" tree →
note
«about» carries no clue for the operation in a problem; it only links a remark to its topic. Trap: «about 10» means nearly 10, an estimate, not an exact amount, so an answer «about 10» may be 9 or 11; «approximately» in an exam means the same. «be about to» means very soon, not a topic. «About time!» is a complaint that something is late, not a question about the clock. Do not mix «about» (topic) with «around» (place), though «around 10» also means nearly 10. In formal writing «concerning», «regarding» or «in respect of» stand where a child would say «about».
In the corpora
- Stories about annoying colleagues told at home are private and should not be repeated outside.
- Grown-ups also tease children about girlfriends and crushes, and older people sometimes find new partners late in life.
- A crush means really liking someone and thinking about them a lot; it is a private feeling and often passes.
- When a woman is pregnant, a baby grows inside her womb for about nine months before it is born.
- Many parents wait about three months before telling people, because the early weeks are the most uncertain.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «about» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.