(单词翻译:单击)
Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Ygor in Brazil.
大家好!本周《名师答疑》我们回答来自巴西的伊戈尔的一个问题。
Hello guys! My name is Ygor and I'd like to say you all are amazing, fantastic, superb, etc.
大家好！我是伊戈尔，我想说你们都很棒、很厉害、超级赞等等。
I just love this channel .
我真喜欢这个节目。
But the preposition "about" is just killing me.
但是介词about简直要了我的命。
I can't get why sometimes people use "about" followed by "ing" and sometimes followed by an infinitive.
我不明白为什么有时about后面跟“ing”，有时后面跟不定式。
Thanks a lot!
非常感谢!
Dear Ygor, Thank you for your kind words.
亲爱的伊戈尔，谢谢你的称赞。
You asked an interesting question because there are several uses of about.
你问了一个有趣的问题，因为about有几种不同用法。
The word can be either an adverb or a preposition.
这个词既可以是副词，也可以是介词。
In some cases, it acts as an adjective.
在某些情况下，它充当形容词。
Let us look at the adverb form first.
让我们先来看看副词的形式。
Adverbs describe a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a statement.
副词描述动词、形容词、另一个副词或陈述句。
When we use "about" as an adverb, it can mean "almost" or "nearly," as in this example:
当我们把about用作副词，它可以表示“几乎”或“接近”，如下面的例句：
We are about ready to take a walk.
我们差不多准备好要去散步了。
With numbers, you can use "about" when you are not sure of the exact amount.
对于数字，当你不能确定确切的数量时，可以使用about。
We will be gone for about twenty minutes.
我们要离开大约20分钟。
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.
接下来，当副词about表示接近做某事，你会听到about后面是一个带to的动词不定式。
We are about to leave for our walk. Are you coming?
我们正要出发去散步。你来吗？
Now, let us think about how "about" works as a preposition.
现在，让我们来看看about作为介词的用法。
As you probably know, a preposition shows direction, place, or time, or introduces an object.
正如你可能知道的，介词表示方向、地点、时间，或介绍对象。
Prepositions are used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
介词与名词、代词或名词短语连用。
"About" as a preposition indicates the subject of a thought, feeling or action, as in:
about作为介词，表示思想、感觉或行动的主题，例如：
Stop shouting about the problem and do something!
停止为这个问题大喊大叫，去做点什么！
When we add "ing" to a verb, we are making it a gerund, which is a word that acts like a noun.
当我们把ing加到一个动词上，它就变成了动名词，即用作名词的词。
In this statement, a gerund follows "about."
在这个陈述句中，动名词跟在about之后。
We talked about buying a car.
我们谈到了买车的事。
The gerund, "buying" is the subject of what is being said.
动名词buying是人们谈话的主题。
Finally, we can find "about" being used as an adjective, that is, to describe a noun or pronoun.
最后，我们可以发现about可以被用作形容词，即描述一个名词或代词。
Here is an example of a feeling many of us have had these days:
这个例句我们许多人最近可能都有同感：
After the lockdown, it feels great to be out and about again.
封控之后，再次出门四处走走的感觉很棒。
Here, "out and about" means outside of one's home.
这里out and about指的是在某人的家外面。
I hope this helps you use "about" more confidently, Ygor.
希望这能帮助你更有把握地使用about一词，伊戈尔。
And that's Ask a Teacher. I'm Jill Robbins.
以上就是本周的《名师答疑》，吉尔·罗宾斯为您播报。
