about
about
The word “about” is used as a preposition or as adjective.
It’s often similar to the word “almost.”
about = almost
- It’s about 10:00. (It’s almost 10:00.)
- She’s about 40 years old. That’s my guess.
- I lost about $10,000 in the stock market last year.
- It takes about five years for a person to learn English well–depending on that person’s age and level of education.
- That’s about all I have to say.
- What is this about?
- It’s about baseball.
- That book is about the subject of baseball.
- I read a good book about the U.S. Civil War.
- Do you. know what the teacher is going to talk to us about?
To use “how about” is very common in spoken American English:
how about = here's an idea
- How about getting something to eat? (There’s no subject or verb in this question.
- How about a pizza?
- How about going tonight?
- Hey, how ’bout a movie? (Notice the word “about” is often shortened to “bout” in spoken English.