About
Puede funcionar como adverbio y como preposición. Vamos a ver sus diferentes significados como preposición.
A.- Definición
1.- Acerca de, sobre
I have read a book about the Marxism
I don’t know nothing about that project
What are you talking about?
You must do something about it
What about playing tennis tomorrow morning?
What about a beer? (¿Qué tal una cerveza?)
The police asked me about the accident
They often talk about politics
He knows a lot about the II World War
2.- Aproximadamente
About 100 soldiers have been made prisoners
The investors paid about 2 millions euros for that company
That man is about fifty years old
There were about forty people in her birthday party
The coast is about 10 km away
3.- Relativo a
There is something nice about her
There is something about my boss that I don’t like
4.- Alrededor, cerca de
That shop must be about here
There are lots of rabbits about this garden
We wandered about the old cathedral
B.- Diferencias
1.- About vs On
Con el significado de “Acerca de“ se utiliza tanto la preposición “About” como la preposición “On”.
I read a book about hobbies
I read a book on European painting
Se utiliza “About” cuando se refiere a un tema ordinario y general, mientras que se utiliza “On” cuando el tema es específico, se profundiza en el tema, se da información adicional.