■ about

1) （往往在 There's... 句中或在有动词 have 的句中）表示在某人身上或某物之中的某种性质。中国人往往因汉语的影响而使用 in。

• There's something different about her.她显得有点异样。
• There was much to admire about this man, but so much also to merit disdain. (Tom Clancy, Clear and Present Danger, p.156)这个人有许多令人钦佩之处，也同样有许多值得鄙视之处。
• There was a defiant manner about this young man.这个青年人带有一种桀骜不驯的神情。
• There's something so selfish and insincere about him.他给人一种自私和虚伪的印象。
• There's something peculiar about mankind.人类有点特别。
• What I like about him is his sense of humour.他令我喜欢的是幽默感。
• There was a steely confidence about her that Rachel liked. (Dan Brown, Deception Point, p.121)她显出一种雷切尔所喜欢的坚如钢铁的信心。
• There was outwardly a certain cynicism about him... (John Fowles, The French Lieutenant's Woman, Chapter 3)乍一看，他的确有些玩世不恭…
• ... if there's anything about an economy, it's that it's constantly in transition. (US News & World Report, June 7, 2004, p.38)…如果说经济有什么特点，那就是经济是经常不断地处于过渡状态之中的。
• To me, the most remarkable thing about the Koran is how progressive it is. (Tony Blair, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2007)在我看来，《古兰经》最了不起的一点，就是它是多么进步。
• The great thing about a computer notebook is that no matter how much you stuff into it, it doesn't get bigger or heavier. (Bill Gates)一部手提电脑了不起的地方，就是无论你塞进多少东西，它都不会变大加重。
• There is indeed something distasteful about the appearance of small figures in a text.文章中夹带小额数字，看起来的确有点令人不舒服。
• The place has a certain charm about it.这地方有点吸引人之处。
• He saw nothing inappropriate about a captain shaving one of his soldiers.他认为，一个上尉给自己的一个士兵刮胡子，并没有什么不对。
• But there was something about him that made it difficult for her to fake an enthusiasm she didn't feel.但是他身上有这样一种气质，使得她难以没有热情却假装有。
• After all, there's nothing illegal or unethical about photographing prospective jurors.归根到底，拍摄可能担任陪审员的人们的照片，并没有什么违法或不道德之处。

有时候，动词不直接表示“有”而是表示“是”( to be)，about 也有这样的含义。

• Two things were odd about the list.这张单子有两点奇怪的地方。
• Some things about this age of change are unchanging. (Times, Aug. 8, 2005, p.41)这个变幻多端的时代，有些东西还是不变的。

2) about 与 on 表示“关于”：about 是一般的“谈及”，on 则是有一定学术水平的“论及”。

• a conversation about housekeeping有关家政的谈话
• a book for children about Mexico一本向儿童介绍墨西哥的书
• a lecture on theoretical physics一场关于理论物理的讲课。

所用介词前面以及后面，两边的名词的正式程度，在这里都需要综合考虑在内。

• a novel about (*on) love一本有关爱情的小说
• a film about (*on) Lincoln一部有关林肯的影片
• a thesis on(*about) Lincoln一篇有关林肯的毕业论文
• a speech on (*about) a political subject一篇有关政治题目的演说
• a paper on (*about) the Holocaust一篇有关纳粹大屠杀的论文。

3) 放在表示“知晓”、“感知”这类动词后面，about 比 of 表示了解得更为详细具体。例如：know of somebody 可能只是从书报电视上知道有此人，但 know about somebody 则是对此人有比较多的了解。表示“从不知到知”这一变化的 learn of 与 learn about，也有类似区别。

4) what X is all about 是英语常用的词组，表示 X 是什么一回事。

• That is what our job is all about.那就是咱们工作的内容。

也就是说，这里有一个公式：X is all about Y，其中 X 是个概括性的概念，Y 则是它的较为具体的内容。所以即使不用 what，这个公式也成立。

• Moving ahead is often all about making good choices from the start of any venture—professional or otherwise.有进有成，往往就在于一开始从事任何事业，无论是职业上的或是其他方面的事业，就作出良好的选择。

有时候 all 可以去掉。

• But if he does it any more, I shall certainly let him know that I see what he is about. (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter Six)要是他再这样，我一定要叫他明白我并不是个糊涂蛋（直译：我一定要叫他明白我知道他的老底）。
• Successful truffle-making is about temperature control.做软块糖要成功，关键在于控制好温度。
• Political courage is not about standing up for what's easy and popular with the people who elect you. (Susan Estrich, The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, New York, Aug. 27, 2008, A9)政治勇气，并不在于挺身去抓住轻而易举而且容易得到选民欢心的事情。

但是这个 X is (all) about Y 的表达法，有些语言上保守的人士认为不高雅，所以在比较正式的书面英语不常用。

5) do X about Y 有“对 Y 这种负面的情况采取 X 办法加以弥补”的意思。

• The question is, what can be done about it?问题在于对此有什么办法？
• There's nothing we can do about it.我们对此束手无策。