About — Topics, Thoughts, and Emotions — English Grammar Exercises
by, with, for, about, of, as, like — use each one precisely
About — Topics, Thoughts, and Emotions
'About' functions as a topic marker — it points to the subject that thinking, speaking, reading, or feeling is directed at. It appears in a wide range of verb and adjective collocations that learners must acquire as chunks. Learner corpus data from the English Vocabulary Profile project shows that about-collocations are well established by B1 level in productive use, but wrong preposition substitution (particularly 'for' and 'of' in place of 'about') persists into B2, especially after emotional adjectives like 'worried', 'excited', and 'curious'.
About After Verbs of Communication and Thought
I often think about my childhood.
Have you heard about what happened?
She knows a lot about Italian cooking.
About After Emotional Adjectives
She's been complaining about the noise.
Are you excited about the trip?
About as Topic Marker
He gave a lecture about climate change.
Common Mistakes
✗ She knows a lot for cooking. → ✓ She knows a lot about cooking.
✗ I'm worried for my test. → ✓ I'm worried about my test.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between 'by' and 'with' in English?
'By' describes a method or means — how something is done at an abstract level: 'by bus', 'by email', 'by hand', 'by mistake'. 'With' describes a tool or instrument you physically hold and use: 'with a pen', 'with scissors', 'with a spoon'. The test: if you can hold the object in your hand, use 'with'. If it's an abstract method or means of transport/communication, use 'by'. 'With' also expresses accompaniment ('with my friends') and manner ('with care').
When do you use 'as' and when do you use 'like'?
'As' introduces an actual role or function — the person or thing genuinely is what follows: 'She works as a nurse' (she IS a nurse), 'He used the chair as a table' (the chair functioned as a table). 'Like' introduces a comparison — the person or thing resembles but is not identical to what follows: 'He runs like a professional athlete' (similar, but he's not one). A common error: 'She works like a nurse' implies she is not actually a nurse. Use 'as' for real roles; 'like' for similarities.
Which preposition follows 'responsible', 'famous', and 'interested'?
These are fixed collocations: 'responsible for' (never 'about' or 'of'), 'famous for' (never 'about'), 'interested in' (never 'by' — though the Russian instrumental case suggests 'by'). Other key collocations: 'afraid of', 'proud of', 'tired of', 'good at', 'depends on', 'consists of', 'apologise for', 'thank someone for'. Learning these as complete chunks — adjective + preposition — is more reliable than trying to derive them from rules.
What is the difference between 'made of' and 'made from'?
'Made of' is used when the original material is still visible or identifiable in the final product: 'a table made of wood' (you can see the wood), 'a ring made of gold' (the gold is apparent). 'Made from' is used when the material has been completely transformed and is no longer recognisable: 'wine made from grapes' (no grapes visible), 'paper made from wood pulp'. In practice, 'made of' is the safer default for solid, visible materials.