about
, about to
, and not about to
in English? You are about to watch a vocabulary lesson in which I will explain the difference between these expressions with many examples. You’ll also hear the Canadian pronunciation of about
that many people find funny!
308 COMMENTS
Thank you!
FIRST COMMENT!!! UHHHHHHHHUUUU! :)
EMMA, you are great!
great these lesson are really helpful. thanks teacher for all your help.
You are a great teacher! I love this page. You are doing a great job. Sigan haciendo mas vídeos… Muchas gracias!
thanks mam
thanks Emma, this lesson is usefull
I didn’t understand de question nº 8. Because if I choose “not about to”, there wil be double “to”. Or Is the question not correctly written?
Fogassa, yes, it’s incorrectly writing, but the correct choose is the third one because “to drop out” means:
abandon, leave; give up, quit, back down; renounce!
Would your parents let you “drop out” (abandon) school?
Guess not!
Incorrectly written*
so sorry, automatic keyboard!
It was a mistake. It was fixed.
hi thank you so much Emma for this lesson.As i was very confused about this ….
Hi Emma! I’m thinking about you .I love your lessons so pretty like you.
greeting from Hungary :)
thanks
Thank you, Emma.
Thank you Emma! Nice lesson!
hi janilza do you want to practice english with me
please can you explain the difference between about and for
Basically, ‘think of’ usually means ‘imagine’ whereas ‘think about’ tends to mean something closer to ‘consider’, so the differences would arise in certain contexts.
10 out of 10. I am about to become a professional in English.))
haven’t you noticed anything wrong? Since you got everything right!
Or Do I just see something more? =0
*10 correct out of 10
What do you mean?
Question #8, there’s a (to) left!
Oh about that, As soon as I noticed that I just deleted it in my mind.))))
I thought you meant my grammar.
No, of course not. Your grammar rocks!
Thanks, I am pleased to hear it from you.
Hey, poslegg, as if I were that good!
Congratulation! I also got 10 of 10. (How is correct? “10 OF 10” or “10 OUT 10”) or both are correct? About 8 question, (Reema’s parents are not about TO TO let her drop out of school. They want her to get an education.) Maybe it’s about double TO? Or I don’t know…
I think that it’s 10 out of 10, but maybe I’m wrong.
Ok I’ve got it. Thank you Vlalimpiev! I’ll try to remember that.
The word was repeated by mistake. This has been fixed.
I think, it was just a small misprint. Thank you for such amazing site! And thank you Emma for so great lesson!
another question what’s the difference between think about and think of
Both are correct. You can say “I think about you” or “I think of you”.
please help me
Good leeson Emma. You’re a great canadian teacher ! But, number 8 is confused for me. I choose “about” , because “not about to” seems to be a mistake.
Brazilian students RULES! HAHA
Great lesson, ms Emma. Could you please make a video teaching ABOUT academic/college idioms? I’m ABOUT TO apply for SAT and I want to learn ABOUT some commom expressions that students and teachers use at college, because I AM NOT ABOUT TO feel insecure with any phrase.
Thank you very much!
Where are you planning to study?
Hi, Emma! All of the your lessons are very good.
This last about “about” is being very useful for me. With the help of this lesson, my english is about to improve.
All the best you.
I would like to make a question. There´s a song called: THAT´S WHAT LOVE IS ALL ABOUT. What is the meaning of ABOUT in this titled?
Watch the video again and pay special attention to the use of ” about” as subject!
I guess that “all about” in this case means “all that can be said about the… love” or “That is all about the love is.”…
Emma, you simply rock!
There’s a mistake on question #8, there’s a proposition (to) left!
hi celia,good morning.i need your help.iam doing my pg degree.i was not perfect in english.can you help me in english.
Yes, this has been fixed.
Thanks, engvid!
Why some videos come with subtitles while some do not? The way I see it, it is more easy for me to understand the videos with subtitles.
Because it takes a lot of time and effort to make them. We would like to add subtitles to all the videos, but right now only some of the videos have them.
many thanks
i was not about to leave a comment, till i found that many people wrote a comment. hhhhhhh
I didn’t understand de question nº 8. Because if I choose “not about to”, there wil be double “to”.
The word was repeated by mistake. This has been fixed.
Hi Emma. I would just like to ask for your help. Which is correct?
“He asked me what my name is” or He asked me what my name was”?
The guy upto this moment still sell shoes:
“He interviewed a guy who sells shoes” or “He interview a guy who sold shoes”?
Does adjective clause have to change tense depending on the main verb?
Sorry. Typo error. I meant this:
The guy upto this moment still sells shoes.
“He interviewed a guy who sells shoes” or “He interviewed a guy who sold shoes.” which is which?
Hey, rjlovesyou, how’s everything going?
This kind of structure you’re trying to use is REPORTED SPEECH.
There are some rules you must follow anyway!
1) If the introductory sentence starts in the present (Thalinho says), there is no backshift of tenses in Reported speech.
Example:
Direct speech: Thalinho: “I am an English teacher.”
Reported speech: Thalinho says (that) he he is an English teacher.
2) If the introductory sentence starts in the past (Thalinho said), there is often backshift of tenses in Reported speech. (see: Note)*
Example:
Thalinho: “I am an English teacher.”
Thalinho said (that) he was an English teacher.
Backshift of tenses
FROM » TO
Simple Present » Simple Past
Simple Past/Past Perfect/Present Perfect » Past Perfect
will » would
* NOTE: the word (that) can be left out.
Thalinho, “you rock”! :)
Pleased to hear it, Janilza, but, I’m certainly not that speaker!
Let’s now go your sentences over, shall we?
Here it is:
#1. “He interviewed a guy who sells shoes”
#2. “He interviewed a guy who sold (him) shoes”
REMARK: we’re now dealing with defining clauses.
You can use both in the present and in the past as long as you wright it correctly!
Hello rjlovesyou.
In the first sentence you only should say: “he asked my name”. Brazilians always do this. We try to translate each word in portuguese to english. But it doesn’t work…
thanks
Dear Emma, thanks!
I’ve got 100 points.
But I still have 2 questions:
1) What did you mean under “not use in writing”. Is it incorrect or just uncommon?
2) Is the meaning of “not about to” – “not to be going to do sth”?
Thank you in advance,
Thank you so much
thank u so much Ms Emma
thank you my favorite teacher,may ask question. Is “to to in quiz No. 8” correct?
I think I am about to succeed in learning English by watching engVid videos :)
Emma u are a lifesaver more vids pls
Thanks
Thanks Emma, it’s a useful lesson, keep going :)
Great lesson!
Thank you teacher Emma, you made a great job.
Thanks Emma..Nice class.
Emma, your lesson is very useful as usual. Thanks.
Hi Emma. Thank you for your lesson’s.
This lecture, “about” is very useful topic for me that I didn’t know.
You are a great teacher. Thanks for the lesson.
thanks alot
The lesson was superb, as always! I don’t know why, but I always understood sentences with the word about even without your lesson (now I know that I did it correctly), but I’ve almost never used one. Now I’m about to do that :)
thanks for the lesson
well.. my first time and i, got 10 out of ten. i don`t want to brag about myself but i,m really good at this. jajaja by the way thanks emma i know this is not ABOUT me but i`m ABOUT TO become an expert and guys i`m NOT ABOUT TO be jugged by you.
warning!! my comment wasn`t about waht i thnik it was just to mke use of the words “ABOUT,TO BE ABOUT TO.. ,AND NOT TO BE ABOUT TO…
I was about to sleep, but I had to see this video before… Thanks again!
Anyone here available for a talk? That needs to work on their speaking as well.. U can skype me xianpan03
I ACED AGAIN THANKS FOR THIS GREAT LESSON EMMA
thank you may i ask you a question? what is the difference between (I have worked here for 3 years) and (I have been worked here for 3 years) i am so confused
thank you
I am about to eat dinner, because this lesson about about, about to, and not about to, made me hungry. Nevertheless, I am not about to eat until finished it.
thank for your subject about it make me more understand about it.
hello pisey.i wann to learn english faster .can you suggest me .how to learn english.
i was shy when iam giving seminar in my college.how can i over come to this fear.its not getting fluent english.please help me how to get prepared for my english seminars.
thanks EMMA i have got 100 points :D
Thanks Emma
Nice ………..
Hi Sister Emma
I a`m so happy to get the score of 9 in your quiz thank you
good! I want to practice English with friends.if someone want to practice this is my Skype ID:(( M.Tayyab Shafaq ))please contact with me.
thank you very much you are the best
Friendly Emma,
Hi,
Hope u r okay;
Would u mind lend me a helping hand plz!!!
Generally speaking,which is the correct 1 ??!!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
1.How often do u go 2 a gym ?
2.How often do u go 2 gym ?
3.How often do u go gym ?
Tx in advance,
Wish u luck,
Cordially,
:) fatiima!
None of them is correctly written.
How often do you go to THE gym?
You must use the definite article (the) in it!
See you around.
… But we know that we use THE 2 refer 2 a definite n specific thing while I don’t wanna refer 2 a specific 1,so no need 2 use THE. N as I pointed out “Generally Speaking”,I wanna know which 1 is right in a general position,as a ? in a placement test 4instance.
Hope u got man!!!
G.L :)
Whatever you’re trying to say, you MUST use the definite article, unless the followed word is a verb…
If you’re not trying to point an specific place out, this isn’t certainly the correct question!
I certainly get your idea, sorry anyway…
Hi Emma,
You tought us really necessariy topic.Thanks a lot.Could you please explain the meaning of make sense? When I searched it ,My mind really felt confused (or I really confused?)
Best regards
Hi cute2, here’s the definition:
make sense
1. To be coherent or intelligible: an explanation that made sense.
2. To be practical or advisable: It makes sense to go now.
Hope it helps.
Hi Thalinho,
Thanks for answering my question.I’m not sure but I think we use make sense for situatios not for persons. In fact I need more example sentence.Still I haven’t understood it enough.Thanks again ,though :(
Hey cute2
Make sense is actually being used very different way from our national language.
Check it out from Google translate.It says exatly same meanning the way we use it in Turkish.
Thanks, Miss Emma nice lesson.
thanks EMMA
hello madam,can you get any audio downloads,please send me.
me too
please can i found any free downloads in english.
Yes, I really want to download this lecture too. But I can’t. Huft :(
Hey didi17 and jordhan, we don’t make the videos available for download, so you’ll have to find another way.
Thanks Emma
Very useful lesson!
Hi Emma.
Thanke you so much about this lesson.
I thought i am not about to get 10 out of 10 but i did it anyway :-).
Tahnks again
Dear Emma. How about to make a lesson about pronunciation of the letter I and G if there is som way to know how to pronounce them? I hope u understand what i mean.
best regards
i have two requests please:
first : the definition “pretty much” i hear it a lot but i do not understand
second : english insults please you may say no it is impolite but it is a part of the language , when you teach us insults you are not teaching insults you are in fact teaching A PART OF THE LANGUAGE, plz
Pretty in this case is being used as an adverb which means: quite, rather, fairly, a lot, much, plenty and so on…
Pretty much means: very much!
thanks
Hi Teacher Emma,
This lesson is really amazing. Thanks for your precious help for the improvement of my english. Keep doing the best.
ohhhh hhuuuuu the first time i get 100/100 oh it may be because the lesson is easy or your explaining is very good thank you emma, by the way i think there is a diference between the this two sentences :
your explanation is very good
your explaining is very good
right ????
“Explaining” is the verb “explain” in its -ing form which means your second sentence isn’t correct!
Very helful lesson and nice explanation thanks a lot
Ema you are the best one…
Emma , I got this time 90 %. You are the best.
oh thank’s ..
I always got 7 out of 10. Not bad.. Regard from Sulawesi Islands, Indonesia. :D
Thanks from Athens.
Thank you very much Emma. From Valencia-Spain
thank you.
You are my favourite teacher . Thank you so much
Thank you, for your good video
I understand vocabulary more than old.
I’m about to do the test..
Hello everybody! i need your help… may be you know something about usage of the present progressive with such words as often, always, seldom and usually and if it’s possible to use this tense with these words what is the rule… thanks in advance
thanks for the lesson :)
thanks…..teacher
You are the best
Great
I’m glad cuz i have done a great job today:):)
I can not describe your strong in teach thank you so much , i am glad to see a good teacher .
Wow!! Great lesson. 10 out of 10
really wonderfull
what’s the difference between think about and think of
and please explain the difference between about and for
Nice lesson. Thank you Emma!
thank you
you do not now how mush i amazed every time i watch your videos
You got 10 correct out of 10 :D
It’s about 10 o’clock ..
I am about to have my dinner !!!
I wanted to know about How to use “about”, now I got it ..
Thank you very much for the lesson Emma .. :)
Thanks Emma!!
Thanks ! I never heard about it before ! It was very helpful for me ! Thanks again !
Thanks;) 9/10 ;))
Thaks Emma, you are a nice teacher.
thanks Emma for your lecture
Thank you Emma.
Thank you Emma
any one help me in learning english.i dont known much about .any one please.
i dont have computer on my own.thats why iam unable to listen the videos daily.if any body known about audio downloads.please help me.if it is any other option that is about english sites.
Thanks Teacher , and I am looking forward next video :D
thanx.
thank you
this lesson is very helpful ..
you are the best
Loved this lesson!
Thank you Emma!!1!
Thanks
Thanks Emma! this joke for you.
– What are you thinking about that car?
– Everything on that car makes noise except the horn.
Hi EMMA YOU ARE GREAT. MANY THX
I discovered this site yesterday, and I must say that it’s really amazing.
You all are very professional. Thanks a lot!
It’s a impotent class to me….thanks to you.
You are the best where are u ı’m gonna go there ı wanna take a lesson wıth u face to face
Great lesson. I’ve got 10 out 10. Thanks.
useful lesson I got 10 thanks
Thank you!
Hey Emma
This is really Helpful…..
Thank’s
Thank you Emma!!!
thank you very much Emma!
thanks Emma i like your pronounciation is very good and i like to speak like you
Thanks ..
if you can please explain the different between
to,about,from
for writing
Thanks. Your lesson is very helpful.
very helpfull
Thanks Emma, great class!
Thank you Emma!
You are great teacher!!
Thanks Emma ! It is a good lesson.
Thank you for your lesson.
It’s very useful for me.
Thanks,
I Think Canadian pronounce about like ” a boat “
I’ve heard that before!
Thank you Emma!
You are great teacher.
Thank you Emma
It is great lesson.
Thank you, bye the way frank remembers me Naruto who always stands for his friends
Thank you.
thanks Emma,but i have question about six
————————-
Lara was _______________ read her book when the telephone rang.
————————
you know , the ringing-phone bothered Lara, so she should be not about to read book, instead of reading one. It seems to me that it would be ” about to “.
ohhh sorry i got score 60 for first times,,,,,but i will try more hard then before heheh,,,nice to join this lesson,,,thanks n greetings to all,,, ^_^
pretty cool, i got 9/10, i learned a lot.
Thanks Emma.
thanks,
All your lessons are amazing!
I am very very like your lessons. Can you uplod more TOEFL lessons? Thanks!
10/10
Thank you Emma ❤
Emma you classes are fantastic! I love it!
thanks Emma
it was great lesson
i had 10/10
I am enjoy by this lesson
Thanks a lot Emma.I am not about to stop studying English because I falied a class.**
Thanks a lot Emma.I about to view your next video.
I am not about to give up these lessons! ;) Oh sorry I forgot that we shouldn’t use it in writing. Actually what I forgot is that I should have thanked you first of all for such great lessons. thanks a lot I like your lessons very much!
Hi Emma
your lessons are absolutely amazing, so I am about to watch all videos on this practical website specially yours.
thanks for all your kindness.
Thank you Emma,
Your lessons are absolutely perfect,:)
Thank you so much
thank you Emma U ARE GREAT
GREAT !!!!
Thanks Mam, got 80%
Skype ID Iftixar17 ..—->If you want to improve your speaking level like me ,you can add me at skype for talking.
Your lesson is interesting!
Thank you very much!
I got 100!!!!
what a clever man!!!!
thanks
Thank you Emma, I like Canadian accent:)
Hı emma ! I have to say ; you are good at it. :))
GOOD LESSON, BUT I NEED TO PRACTICE MORE.
Great lesson!
It’s an amazing lesson! Thank you, Emma.
Y’know, your lesson make me remember a grammar structure : be to do st. I have not understood this structure at all. May you help me ? Thanks a lot !
Yeaaahhhhh i got 10 correct out of 10 !! =D
thanks, Emma
I’m going to speak english fluently with you …
honestly you are fantastic Emma
thank you Emma~ take care^^
Thanks Emma >>
your classes are perfect.. they helped me in my teaching as well thanks a lot
God Bless & protect you .. Ameen
thanks Emma, your lessons are really powerful. i like it
Thanks Emma..I got 90%
Thanks Emma.All your lessons are very helpful , your pronounciation is very good I like it very much.
Useful, many thanks
Thanks :) this workout helped me
thanks Emma, i is really a nice video.
Beautiful teacher = great learning
Thank you so much!
Thank you Ms. Emma I enjoy your lesson
Thank you Ms. Emma I enjoy (“,)
What an amazing teacher you are! :)
thanks emma i get 90
hi Emma , i’m about to interview at my university .Can you help me,please ?? thank you
thanks loads.
I would like to know ,what is difference between how about and what about?
100%
It’s very helpful. Thanks a lot. :-)
You are perfect teacher
Hi, I ‘d like to know if is it possible to use these terms at past. For example:
– At the time, he was not about to let the country.
-I was about to take a shower when she called me.
Thanks for answering.:)
Thank You Emma I love your class I need to learn more step by step.
thanks you mrs. emma
Thank you emma..
Thank you :)
Thank Emma for this lesson :)
thank you
I love they way you teach. Its very easy to feed everything in mind what you speak.
I have no words to say more, god bless you.
Thanks a lot
emma, i’m going to eat dinner n’ i’m about to eat dinner. are they same,,,,
Excelent….It’s a good English grammar class..
i learned so much from this vid
thank you !
Thank you,Emma.
I got 100, kkkkkkkk
10/10. Thank you Emma, your a good teacher.
thanks a lot EMMA with this quiz I’ve got 10/10
thank u Emma, I like your lessons
Thank alot from thailand
I got 10 to 10 .. . . .
how can i download your lessons ?
Hello Engvid, I love you people I fellow you everywhere on the internet, I have inquiry and it so urgent PLEASE, How may I contact you please ?
Great lesson. Thank you.
Thank you Emma. First,I got 9/10 and second I got 10/10. Have a woundful holliday,Emma.
Tonight I got 9 out of 10 ,Am so happy nd satisfied! I want to try more quiz but im pretty sleepy maybe coz am tired just got back,home from my ballroom dance I can’t concentrate ill do again next time ,Thx Ms.Emma
I’m about to find friends here to improve my English :)
you got a friend im here so what you about to do now
thank u really u r great amazing teacher
you have learned me a lot of english, thank you Emma. :)
great lesson! Thanks a lot!
Hi Emma.What are you talking about,i haven’t understand any thing ha.ha.!
Regards!
Thank you, teacher!
Hi Emma
Thank you very much, you are great as we had known befor,i would like to tell you i’m about to luern english language
learn correct
Thank u Emma for teaching us
I thank you very very much emma you are greatest
Thanks, Emma.I got 100.Good explanation.
Thanks, I’m enjoy!!
I was about to go out my mom was called me and She said, I’m not let you go out becase you always late home when you go out.
Thanks Emma for the lesson! I’m about to watch your lessons over&over.
Can somebody tell me what we say in the situation when we want to express We won’t have a shower soon? Because it’s okay that we say : I am about to have a shower (I’ll have a shower soon) but what we say when we won’t have a ashower soon? We can’t say I am not about to have a shower because I’m not determinated about not having a shower. I just won’t have a shower soon.
Thanks Emma………….I feel CANADIAN accent is better than American…….
Thanks alot Emma
Thanks alot Emma, my pleasure teacher.I am looking forward to recieving your new lessons.
10 of 10 , thank you
10 out of 10 thank you so much for these wonderful video lessons.
Thanks a lot.
thanks
You got 9 correct out of 10 thank you
Thank u
good to teach such a strong basic learning like this …i like the way Emma’s explanation
I like to study Emma’s lecture. Thank you.
I am about to sleep? Thank you Emma?
Love to learn. Thank you.
thanks for this interesting lecture. I about to get 100 but a little mistake and I got 90.
teacher… 10/10… thank you very much…i’m looking forward to watching your new lessons soon.
I do not anderstand the meaning ot this lesson,,,,, in anycase we are obliged to write “about to” cause there is verb after, an infinitive. So?
Thanks!
I like the lesson. It is a new discovery that I make this morning. It makes me understand the difference among them. It is very helpful
Thank you!
Thank you Emma I didn’t know the meaning of ”not about to”.
Thank so much Emma. I learn every day more.
I’m just about to speak like a native speaker
I’m about to learn more English with Emma
I’m about five lessons to speak like a native speaker
thanks so much
Thank you Emma! 10\10
10/10 thnxxxx Emma.
I got 10 correct out of 10, good job, myself. :D
I’m about to getting better and better in English ! :)
I’m not about to let anybody stop me when I’m studying English.
Just now,I’m about to go to bed.
Good night, everyone.
Thank you, Emma
10/10
thanks from algeria
Thanks Emma. I’m not about to quit learning English, despite being difficult.
Thank you Ms. Emma for a useful lesson.
9/10! I’m not about to stop learning English with Emma! Emma help me improve my English level. Thanks!
I got 9 correct out of 10
Thanks Emma
.
Finally,I have understood difference between “about” and “be about to”
Thank you, Emma.
Thank you Emma.
I am excited are on your class.
I got 8 correct out of 10
9/10 thank you :))
Dear Ms Emma, now I know the meaning of these three difficult phrases. Thanks a lot!