Free Sample – Prepositions Pro Challenge

10 WAYS TO USE “ABOUT”

1. Approximately

• About 30 people went to the party
  (Use it for a guess or an estimate that is not exact)

2. Almost

• I’m just about finished with my work.
  (With this meaning, we typically say “just about” + adjective)

3. In the general area

• A handful of tourists were wandering about the city center.
  (This is more common in British English; in American English we would typically use “around.” But the next two expressions below ARE commonly used by Americans)
• We weren’t home at all yesterday – we were out and about.
  (This means outside your home)
• He’s finally up and about a week after his knee surgery.
  (We use “up and about” when someone has recovered from a sickness or accident enough to stand up and move around)

4. Concerning, regarding

• She wrote a book about her experience in the military.

5. Very soon

• I’m about to go to the store – want to come with me?
  (The structure of the phrases is “about + to + verb”)

6. Go about doing something = Proceed to do it in a particular way

• I’m new at the company. How should I go about requesting a different desk?
  (We usually use this phrase in questions about how a process should be done, or how someone plans to do it)

7. Be all about = Be passionate / excited / focused on

• I only buy things on sale – I’m all about getting the best deal possible.

8. Do an about-face = Turn and go the opposite way

• The gate was locked, so I did an about-face and went back to my car.
  (This can be used both for physically turning around as well as completely changing your opinion to the opposite)

9. It’s about time = This should have happened already

• After a month, they finally fixed the leaking sink – it’s about time!

10. How about…? / What about…? = Introduce possibilities or problems

• You’re going to take a nap? What about all the work you have to do?
• How about ordering pizza tonight?

(In general, “how about” is used to introduce possibilities, and “what about” is used to bring up problems/obstacles, but this is not a strict rule!)