ABOUT

look here for . . .

• about a person or subject
• not exact

if you mean 'be about to', go to the ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 5

1 about a person or subject

about BrE: AmE: /E'baUt/ [preposition]

concerned with or relating to a particular subject or person:
• She talks about him all the time.
• I'm reading a story about some children who get lost on a mountain.
• I've been thinking about what you said, and I've decided that you're
right.
• Does anyone have any questions about tonight's homework?
be about
• "It's a really good film." "What's it about?" "It's about some students
in New York."
all about something (all the details about something)
• Mom wanted to know all about my new job.

on BrE: AmE: /Qn›A:n, O:n/ [preposition]

about a particular subject:
• a book on 18th century European literature
• Professor Dodd is giving a lecture on medieval history.
opinions/ideas/views on
• a survey of young people's opinions on marriage
+ how/why/what etc
• We would like to hear your views on how services could be improved.
! Don't use on when talking about books, films etc that tell stories. Use
it about opinions, or about writing or talks about factual things.

concerning/regarding BrE: AmE: /kEn'sF:nIN, rI'gA:dIN/

[preposition] formal
about - use this to talk about information, ideas, questions, or
discussions, not to talk about books, films, or stories:
• The police have new information concerning the identity of the
murder victim.
• Thank you for your letter regarding my student loan.
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Formal or informal?
Concerning and regarding are used in writing and in formal spoken
 • The police have new information concerning the identity of the
murder victim.
• Thank you for your letter regarding my student loan.
Formal or informal?
Concerning and regarding are used in writing and in formal spoken
English.

deal with something BrE: AmE: /'di:l wID (something)/

[phrasal verb transitive]
if a book, film, play, speech etc deals with a subject, it is about that
subject:
• The book deals with the problems of poverty and unemployment.
• These issues are dealt with again in Chapter 4.

dealing - dealt - have dealt

! Only use deal with about serious subjects that are related to real life.

2 not an exact number or amount

about (also around especially American) BrE: AmE: /E'baUt,

E'raUnd/ [adverb]
a little more or a little less than a particular number, amount, distance,
or time:
• The church is about a mile away.
• It's about 2 years since I last saw him.
• "What time would you like me to come?" "Oh, about 9 o'clock."
• The murder was committed at around noon on Friday.
• It cost around $1500.

approximately BrE: AmE: /E'prQks˜m˜tli›E'prA:k-/ [adverb]

close to a particular number but possibly a little more or a little less than
it - used when you do not know the exact number:
• We will be landing at Heathrow in approximately 30 minutes.
• Approximately 30% of the community is Polish.
Formal or informal?
Approximately is more formal than about or around, and is mostly
used in writing.

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 roughly BrE: AmE: /'rVfli/ [adverb]
a little more or a little less than a number - use this when you are
making a guess which you know is not at all exact:
• A new computer like this one would cost roughly $2000.
• There were roughly 50 people there.

odd BrE: AmE: /Qd›A:d/ [adverb] spoken informal

a hundred/forty/twenty etc odd
a little more or less than a hundred, forty etc - use this after numbers in
tens, hundreds, or thousands:
• It's been thirty odd years since I've seen him.
• There's fifty odd channels, and still nothing to watch.

or so BrE: AmE: /O: 'sEU/

use this after a number or amount to show that it may be a little more
or a little less:
• "How many people are coming?" "Oh, about a dozen or so."
• A month or so later, they heard that Blake was dead.
Formal or informal?
Don't use or so in formal writing.

give or take BrE: AmE: /,gIv O: 'teIk/

give or take a few days/miles/dollars etc especially spoken
use this after a number, to show that it is not exact but it is nearly
correct:
• She's been working there for two years, give or take a few weeks.

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ACCEPT

look here for . . .

• accept an offer or gift
• accept an idea or suggestion
• accept a situation that you cannot change

1 to accept an offer, invitation, or request

opposite REFUSE

see also SAYING YES

accept BrE: AmE: /Ek'sept/ [verb transitive]

to say yes to an offer, an invitation, or a chance to do something:
• I decided to accept the job.
• The President has accepted an invitation to visit Beijing.
• If they offered you a place on the course, would you accept it?
! Don't say 'I accepted to do it'. Say I agreed to do it.

take BrE: AmE: /teIk/ [verb transitive]

if you take an opportunity or a job that someone offers you, you accept
it:
• He says he'll take the job if they offer it to him.
• This is a wonderful opportunity - I think you should take it.

taking - took - have taken

Formal or informal?
Take is more informal than accept.

say yes BrE: AmE: /,seI 'jes/ especially spoken

to say you will do what someone has invited you to do or asked you to
do:
• We'd love you to come with us to France this summer. Please say
yes!
• He doesn't usually lend his CDs, so I was surprised when he said yes.

agree BrE: AmE: /E'gri:/ [verb intransitive]

to say you will do what someone has asked you to do, especially
something that may be difficult, inconvenient etc:
©• Copyright
They've asked me to Education
Pearson do a talk at Ltd
the conference,
2005 and I've agreed.
agree to do something
• I wish I had never agreed to teach him to drive.
 to say you will do what someone has asked you to do, especially
something that may be difficult, inconvenient etc:
• They've asked me to do a talk at the conference, and I've agreed.
agree to do something
• I wish I had never agreed to teach him to drive.

agreeing - agreed - have agreed

take somebody up on something/take up somebody's

offer BrE: AmE: /-,teIk (somebody) 'Vp Qn (something) , ,teIk Vp
(somebody*s) 'QfE›-'O:f-/
to accept someone's offer to do something for you, at some time after
the offer was originally made:
• "If you need a babysitter, give me a call." "Thanks - I may take you
up on that some time!"
• In the end he took up his parents' offer of a loan.
Formal or informal?
Take somebody up on something is more informal than take up
somebody's offer.

2 to take money or a gift that someone offers you

opposite REFUSE

take BrE: AmE: /teIk/ [verb transitive]

to accept something that is offered or given to you:
• Take my advice and go to see a doctor.
take something from somebody
• My mother always warned us never to take candy from strangers.
take it or leave it spoken (used to tell someone that you will not change
your offer)
• $100 is my final offer - take it or leave it.

taking - took - have taken

accept BrE: AmE: /Ek'sept/ [verb transitive]

to take money or a gift from someone:

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 • We hope you'll accept this small gift.
• Jerry wouldn't accept any payment for helping Mr Smythe.
accept something from somebody
• The minister was accused of accepting bribes from oil companies.
Formal or informal?
Accept is more formal than take.

3 to agree that a suggestion or idea is right

opposite DISAGREE

see also SAYING YES

accept BrE: AmE: /Ek'sept/ [verb transitive]

to agree that an idea or fact is true or right, especially when you did not
previously think so:
• He was beginning to accept the idea that there may be some truth in
what she was saying.
+ that
• The judge accepted that Carter had not intended to harm anyone.

agree BrE: AmE: /E'gri:/ [verb intransitive/transitive]

to accept that a plan or suggestion is good, especially when you have
the power to decide whether it will be allowed to happen:
• I spoke to my boss yesterday about postponing the meeting, and she
agreed.
+ to
• We want to have a big party, but I don't think my parents will agree
to it.
+ that
• Everyone agreed that Dave should be in the team.

welcome BrE: AmE: /'welkEm/ [verb transitive]

to think that a plan, suggestion, or decision is very good, and eagerly
accept it:
• Most companies have welcomed the idea of job-sharing.
be warmly welcomed
• These new proposals were warmly welcomed by the German

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 Chancellor.

4 to accept a situation which you do not like

accept BrE: AmE: /Ek'sept/ [verb transitive]

to realize that you cannot change a situation which you do not like:
• There's nothing we can do - we have to accept the voters' decision.
+ that
• We have to accept that the airport will carry on getting bigger.

put up with something BrE: AmE: /,pUt 'Vp wID (something)/

[phrasal verb transitive] especially spoken
to accept an annoying situation or someone's annoying behaviour,
without trying to stop it or change it:
• I don't know how you put up with all this noise day after day.
• You see what I have to put up with - the kids never stop quarrelling.

tolerate BrE: AmE: /'tQlEreIt›'tA:-/ [verb transitive]

to accept an unpleasant situation, without trying to change it even
though you would like to:
• For years the workers have had to tolerate low wages and terrible
working conditions.
• I don't know why his mother tolerates his behaviour.
Formal or informal?
Tolerate is used in writing. It can also be used in spoken English by a
parent, teacher etc who is angry and is showing their authority: I will
not tolerate this kind of behaviour.

live with something BrE: AmE: /'lIv wID (something)/ [phrasal

verb transitive] especially spoken
to accept an unpleasant situation as a permanent part of your life which
you cannot change:
• You have to learn to live with stress.
• We don't really like the new system, but I suppose we'll just have to
live with it.

be resigned to something/resign yourself to something

BrE: AmE: /bi: rI'zaInd tu: (something), rI'zaIn jO:self tu:

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 (something)/ especially written
to realize that you must accept an unpleasant situation, because you
cannot prevent it or avoid it:
• Joe is resigned to the fact that he will miss tomorrow's big race.
• Pat knew her husband wasn't coming back and she was resigned to
being alone.
• She had resigned herself to a life of cooking and cleaning.

make the best of it/make the most of it BrE: AmE: /,meIk

DE 'best Ev It, ,meIk DE 'mEUst Ev It/ especially spoken
to accept a situation that you do not like, and try to enjoy it or use it in
the best or most complete way possible:
• It's not the college I really wanted to go to, but I suppose I'll just
have to make the best of it.
• It rained every day we were in Paris, but we made the most of it.

5 to officially accept a new law or proposal

pass BrE: AmE: /pA:s›pHs/ [verb transitive]

if a parliament or similar group passes a law or proposal, the members
vote to accept it:
• The State Assembly passed a law which banned smoking in public
places.
• The bill was passed by 197 votes to 50.

approve BrE: AmE: /E'pru:v/ [verb transitive]

to officially accept a plan or proposal to do something:
• The Medical Research Council said it could not approve the use of the
new drug.
• The deal has already been approved by shareholders.
approval /E'pru:vEl/ [noun uncountable]:
• The parking proposals have been given the mayor's approval. (=he
has approved them)

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