[ti:All About 'About']
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:01.92]Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher
[00:04.44]we answer a question from Ygor in Brazil.
[00:08.68]Hello guys! My name is Ygor and I'd like to say
[00:12.36]you all are amazing, fantastic, superb, etc.
[00:16.80]I just love this channel ...
[00:18.80]but the preposition "about" is just killing me.
[00:24.04]I can't get why sometimes people use "about" followed by "ing"
[00:30.08]and sometimes followed by an infinitive.
[00:34.24]Thanks a lot! --Ygor, Brazil.
[00:35.32]Dear Ygor,
[00:37.48]Thank you for your kind words.
[00:40.76]You asked an interesting question
[00:43.04]because there are several uses of about.
[00:46.88]The word can be either an adverb or a preposition.
[00:51.76]In some cases, it acts as an adjective.
[00:55.40]Let us look at the adverb form first.
[01:00.12]Adverbs describe a verb, an adjective,
[01:03.64]another adverb, or a statement.
[01:07.12]When we use "about" as an adverb,
[01:09.76]it can mean "almost" or "nearly," as in this example:
[01:14.96]We are about ready to take a walk.
[01:17.84]With numbers, you can use "about"
[01:21.12]when you are not sure of the exact amount.
[01:24.88]We will be gone for about twenty minutes.
[01:28.76]And here is the point where you will hear
[01:31.52]an infinitive verb with "to" after "about"
[01:35.32]when the adverb means you are very close to doing something.
[01:40.52]We are about to leave for our walk. Are you coming?
[01:45.60]Now, let us think about how "about" works as a preposition.
[01:51.08]As you probably know, a preposition shows direction,
[01:55.12]place, or time, or introduces an object.
[02:00.76]Prepositions are used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
[02:06.20]"About" as a preposition
[02:08.44]indicates the subject of a thought, feeling or action, as in,
[02:14.84]Stop shouting about the problem and do something!
[02:21.16]When we add "ing" to a verb, we are making it a gerund
[02:25.72]– which is a word that acts like a noun.
[02:29.04]In this statement, a gerund follows "about."
[02:33.56]We talked about buying a car.
[02:36.04]The gerund, "buying" is the subject of what is being said.
[02:42.04]Finally, we can find "about" being used as an adjective,
[02:46.24]that is, to describe a noun or pronoun.
[02:49.60]Here is an example of a feeling many of us have had these days:
[02:55.16]After the lockdown, it feels great to be out and about again.
[03:02.68]Here, "out and about" means outside of one's home.
[03:07.40]I hope this helps you use "about" more confidently, Ygor.
[03:12.24]What question do you have about American English?
[03:15.52]Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
[03:21.44]And that's Ask a Teacher.
[03:23.56]I'm Jill Robbins. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM