Practice
About or around: choosing the right word
Maya asks for a book about local history. Later, she walks around the old library. The words look similar, but the first sentence names a topic and the second describes movement in a place.
Choose about or around by deciding whether the sentence names a topic, a surrounding place or movement, or an approximate amount or time.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
around /əˈraʊnd/
The short answer
Use about for a subject or topic. Use around for movement, position, or a location that surrounds something. Both words can mean approximately before a number or time.
We talked about the new schedule for an hour.
Why it works: About introduces the subject of the conversation, not a place near the speakers.
5 more examples
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The podcast is about small businesses in the city.
About introduces the topic of the podcast.
Not this:The host walked
around the citybefore recording the episode. What changes: Around describes movement through or near different parts of the city. -
Please tell me about your travel plans.
The speaker wants information on the subject of the plans.
Not this:Please wait
around the entranceuntil the guide arrives. What changes: Around names the area where the person should stay. -
A fence runs around the community garden.
Around shows that the fence surrounds the garden.
Not this:The notice is
about the community garden rules. What changes: About introduces the subject explained in the notice. -
About forty people joined the workshop.
About means the number is an estimate rather than an exact count.
Not this:
Around forty peoplejoined the workshop. What changes: Around also gives an approximate count in this sentence. -
The meeting starts at about six o'clock.
About makes the time approximate.
Not this:The meeting starts
around six o'clock. What changes: Around has the same approximate-time meaning here.
Read the full guide
Choose about when the next noun is the subject of a thought, question, book, or conversation. Choose around when someone or something moves near, surrounds, or is located near a place or object.
Use about for a topic
Use about when the noun after it is the subject of speech, writing, thought, or feeling. It answers the question, What is this discussion, question, or text about?
I read an article about saving water at home.
Saving water is the subject of the article. The sentence does not describe a location.
Which word fits a question on the subject of a course?
Use about: Can I ask you about the evening course?
Use around for movement and position
Use around when someone or something moves near an object or through different parts of a place. It can also show that things are on several sides of a central place.
The dog ran around the bench.
Around describes the dog's path near the bench.
Several chairs stood around the table.
The chairs were in positions that surrounded the table.
Which word describes a walk near different parts of a lake?
Use around: We walked around the lake after lunch.
Use either word for an estimate
Before a number, amount, or time, both about and around can mean approximately. The choice usually does not change the main meaning. Use a different form if the number must be exact.
The package should arrive in about three days.
About tells the reader that three days is an estimate.
The package should arrive in around three days.
Around gives the same approximate meaning in this sentence.
Does around ten minutes promise exactly ten minutes?
No. It means close to ten minutes, but the exact time may be a little shorter or longer.
Keep topic and place meanings separate
A sentence can contain both words because it can name a topic and a place. Read each phrase separately. The word after about is often an idea. The word after around is often a place or object.
We talked about the mural while we walked around the station.
The mural is the topic of the conversation. The station is the place where the group walked.
Which phrase names the subject in this sentence: They wrote a guide about the river?
About the river names the subject of the guide.
Choose the simpler word that fits
Do not choose around just because the topic is broad, and do not choose about just because a person is near something. The sentence needs one clear relationship: subject, location, movement, surrounding position, or estimate.
She was worried about the exam.
The exam is the subject of her worry, so about is needed.
She looked around the exam room.
Around describes where she directed her eyes.
Which word fits a book with cooking as its subject?
Use about: It is a book about cooking.
Before you go
Remember this
Use about for a topic: We talked about the plan. Use around for a place, path, or surrounding position: We walked around the park. Before an estimate, either word can work: about twenty minutes or around twenty minutes.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "About or around: choosing the right word"
When should I use about instead of around?
Use about when you name the subject of a conversation, question, article, book, thought, or feeling. For example, The podcast is about small businesses in the city names what the podcast discusses. Around would not introduce that topic.
The podcast is about small businesses in the city.
When should I use around for a place?
Use around for movement near a place, a route that goes around it, or a position on several sides of it. For example, A fence runs around the community garden means that the fence surrounds the garden.
The host walked around the city before recording the episode.
Can about and around both mean approximately?
Yes. Before a number or time, about and around usually mean approximately. About forty people joined the workshop and Around forty people joined the workshop both say that forty is an estimate, not an exact count.
Please tell me about your travel plans.
Can one sentence use both about and around?
Yes. A sentence can name a topic and a place at the same time. In We talked about the mural while we walked around the station, about introduces the subject of the conversation and around describes the place of the walk.
Please wait around the entrance until the guide arrives.
Is around correct for the topic of a book?
Usually no. Use about for the subject of a book, article, or discussion. The notice is about the community garden rules is correct because the rules are the notice's subject. Use around when you need a place, movement, surrounding position, or estimate.
A fence runs around the community garden.