Hello! This week on
Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Ygor in Brazil.
QUESTION:
Hello guys! My name is Ygor
and I’d like to say: You all are amazing, fantastic,
I just love this channel …
but the preposition
ABOUT is just killing me. I can’t get why sometimes people use ABOUT followed by “ing” and sometimes followed by an infinitive. Thanks a lot! - Ygor, Brazil.
amazing:
fascinante; I just love: me encanta; is just killing me:
simplemente me está aniquilando;
ANSWER: Dear Ygor, Thank you for your
kind words. You asked an interesting question because there are several uses of
ABOUT. The word can be either an adverb or a preposition. In some cases, it acts
as an adjective. Let us look at the adverb form first.
kind words:
amables comentarios; several uses: varios usos; can be either ... or
...: puede ser ... o ...; it acts as: actúa como; let us look:
veamos;
ABOUT AS AN ADVERB
Adverbs describe a
verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a statement. When we use ABOUT as an
adverb, it can mean “almost” or “nearly,” as in this example:
a statement:
una oración; almost: casi; nearly: más o menos, aproximadamente;
We are ABOUT READY ready to take a walk.
Estamos casi
listos para dar un paseo.
With numbers, you
can use ABOUT when you are not sure of the exact amount.
when you are
not sure: cuando no estás seguro/a; of the exact amount: de la
cantidad exacta;
We will be gone FOR ABOUT about twenty minutes.
Estaremos afuera
por aproximadamente veinte minutos.
And here is the
point where you will hear an infinitive verb with “to” after ABOUT when the
adverb means you are very close to doing something:
when the adverb
means: cuando el adverbio expresa (que); you are very close to doing
something: estás por o a punto de hacer algo;
We are ABOUT TO LEAVE for our walk. Are you coming?
Estamos POR
SALIR / A PUNTO DE SALIR a caminar. ¿Vienes?
ABOUT
AS A PREPOSITION
Now, let us think
about how ABOUT works as a preposition. As you probably know, a preposition
shows direction, place, or time, or introduces an object. Prepositions are used
with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
let us think about:
pensemos sobre; how ABOUT works: cómo trabaja ABOUT; as you probably
know: como probablemente sepas; noun phrase: frase sustantivada;
ABOUT as a preposition indicates the subject of a thought, feeling or action, as in:
indicates the
subject of a thought: indica el sujeto de un pensamiento; feeling:
sentimiento; as in: como en (este ejemplo);
Stop SHOUTING ABOUT the problem and do something!
Dejen de
vociferar sobre el problema y hagan algo.
When we add “ing” to
a verb, we are making it a gerund – which is a word that acts like a noun. In
this statement, a gerund follows ABOUT”:
a gerund
follows ABOUT: un gerundio (ING) le sigue a la preposición ABOUT (en este
ejemplo);
We talked ABOUT BUYING a car.
Conversamos acerca de
comprar un automóvil.
The gerund, “buying”
is the subject of what is being said.
gerund: gerundio
ING ("ando" o "endo"); the subject of what is being said: el sujeto
de lo que se está diciendo;
ABOUT AS AN ADJECTIVE
Finally, we can find ABOUT being used as an adjective, that is, to describe a noun or pronoun. Here
is an example of a feeling many of us have had these days:
being used as:
siendo utilizado como; that is: es decir; a feeling many of us have
had: un sentimiento que muchos de nosotros hemos tenido (el encierro y
posterior liberación por la pandemia);
After the lockdown, it feels great to be OUT AND ABOUT again.
Luego del encierro (cuarentena) se siente fantástico salir de casa de nuevo.
Here, “out and about”
means outside of one’s home. I hope this helps you use ABOUT more
confidently, Ygor.
help you use:
te ayude a utilizar; out and about: pasear, callejear; more
confidently: confiadamente.
And that’s
Ask a
Teacher. I’m Jill Robbins.