About vs That - What's the difference?
about | that |
In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.
* c.1604-1605 , (William Shakespeare), ''
* 1769 , '', iii, 3
Near; not far from; regarding approximately time, size, quantity.
* c.1590-1591 , (William Shakespeare),
* 1769 , '', xx, 3,
* 1769 , '', ix, 18
* , chapter=4
, title=[http://openlibrary.org/works/OL5535161W Mr. Pratt's Patients]
, passage=I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.}}
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=[http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21581981-what-pollution-some-opportunity-others-welcome-plastisphere Welcome to the plastisphere]
, passage=[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria,
On the point or verge of.
* 1769 , '', xviii, 14
* 1866 , A treatise on the law of suits by attachment in the United States , by Charles Daniel Drake, [http://books.google.de/books?id=Igs-AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=%22was+about+leaving%22&source=bl&ots=aQXMZaxYAu&sig=T2wNto6m-YO2kSAwyWV-SivvnUw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YblHUKaUJc2LswbzkIHQDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22was%20about%20leaving%22&f=false page 80]
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1
, passage=I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.}}
On one's person; nearby the person.
* 1837 , , Ernest Maltravers: Volume 1
Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.
* 1671 , (John Milton),
* 1849 , (Thomas Babington Macaulay), The history of England from the accession of James the Second
Concerned with; engaged in; intent on.
* 1769 , '', ii, 49
* 2013 March 14, (Parks and Recreation)'', season 5, episode 16, ''Bailout :
Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of; to affect.
* 1671 (John Milton), ''(Samson Agonistes)
* 1860 , (Anthony Trollope), (Framley Parsonage)
* , chapter=4
, title=[http://openlibrary.org/works/OL5535161W Mr. Pratt's Patients]
, passage=I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.}}
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=[http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21579879-buy-out-firm-really-does-focus-operational-improvements-engineers Engineers of a different kind]
, passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about , they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.}}
(label) In or near, as in mental faculties or (label) in possession of; in control of; at one's command; in one's makeup.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2
, passage=Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.
In the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place.
*{{quote-book, year=1892, author=(James Yoxall)
, chapter=5, title=[http://openlibrary.org/works/OL10504990W The Lonely Pyramid]
, passage=The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom.
Not distant; approximate.
#On all sides; around.
#*1599 , , III-ii,
#*:Why, then, I see, ‘tis time to look about , / When every boy Alphonsus dares control.
#Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.
#*1769 , King James Bible'', Oxford Standard text, '' , v,13,
#*:And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
#*
#*:He and Gerald usually challenged the rollers in a sponson canoe when Gerald was there for the weekend; or, when Lansing came down, the two took long swims seaward or cruised about in Gerald's dory, clad in their swimming-suits; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous,.
#Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence, in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost.
#:
#*1769 , King James Bible'', Oxford Standard text, '' , xxxii,28:
#*:And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
#*
#*:“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are'' pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling ''à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.”
#Near; in the vicinity.
In succession; one after another; in the course of events.
On the move; active; astir.
To a reversed order; half round; facing in the opposite direction; from a contrary point of view.
:
*1888 , ,
*:Mr. Carter, whose back had been turned, turned about and faced his niece.
#(lb) To the opposite tack.
(lb) Preparing; planning.
(lb) In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; in circumference.
:
*1886 , Duncan Keith, A history of Scotland: civil and ecclesiastical from the earliest times to the death of David I, 1153 , Vol.1,
*:Nothing daunted, the fleet put to sea, and after sailing about the island for some time, a landing was effected in the west of Munster.
Moving around; astir.
:
*1898 , , ,
*:'John, I have observed that you are often out and about of nights, sometimes as late as half past seven or eight.'
In existence; being in evidence; apparent;
*1975 , IPC Building & Contract Journals Ltd, Highways & road construction , Vol.43,
*:To my mind, transportation engineering is similar to flying in the 1930s — it has been about for some time but it has taken the present economic jolt to shake it out of its infancy, in the same way that the war started the development of flying to its current stage.
*2005 , IDG Communications, Digit , Issues 89-94,
*:Although it has been about for some time now, I like the typeface Sauna.
*2006 , Great Britain Parliament: House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, Energy: Meeting With Malcolm Wicks MP ,
*:Is not this sudden interest in capturing CO2 — and it has been about for a little while — simply another hidey-hole for the government to creep into?
Normally active and capable.
:
because, in that.
so, so that.
* 1714 , (Alexander Pope), The Rape of the Lock , III.1:
* 1833 , Parley's Magazine , volume 1, page 23:
* 2009 , Dallas R. Burdette, Biblical Preaching and Teaching (ISBN 1615790853), page 340:
* 2008 , Zoe Williams, The Guardian , 23 May 2008:
(archaic, or, poetic) seeing as; inasmuch as; given that; as would appear from the fact that.
* 1623 , (William Shakespeare), The Comedy of Errors :
* 1859 , (Charles Dickens), (A Tale of Two Cities):
* , third draft of what became (Sons and Lovers)'', in Helen Baron (editor), ''Paul Morel , Cambridge University Press (2003), ISBN 978-0-521-56009-2,
* 1866 October 6, Anthony Trollope, The Claverings'', part 8, in ''Littell's Living Age , number 1166 (series 4, number 27), page 27:
* 1864 , T. S. Norgate's translation of the Iliad , book 10, page 613:
* 1892 , Paolo Segneri, The Manna of the Soul: Meditations for Each Day of the Year :
* 1610 , (William Shakespeare), The Tempest , act 1, scene 2, page 4:
The (thing, person, idea, etc) indicated or understood from context, especially if more remote physically, temporally or mentally than one designated as "(l)", or if expressing distinction.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8
, passage=The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.}}
* {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=
, passage=She was like a Beardsley Salome , he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.}}
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=
, passage=‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’}}
(lb) The thing, person, idea, quality, event, action
* , , Scene 1:
* 1888 July, The Original Secession Magazine , page 766:
*
* 1990 , (Peter Hopkirk), The Great Game (Folio Society 2010), page 310:
* 2005 , (Joey Comeau), Lockpick Pornography (Loose Teeth Press):
(lb) The aforementioned quality; (used together with a verb and pronoun to emphatically repeat a previous statement).
* 1910 , Helen Granville-Barker, An Apprentice to Truth , page 214:
(lb) Which, who.
* (William Shakespeare), Hamlet , act 1, scene 4:
* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson, work=Telegraph
, title= * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (degree) To a given extent or degree.
(degree) To a great extent or degree; very, particularly (in negative constructions).
To such an extent; so, such. (in positive constructions).
* 1693 , (John Hacket), Scrinia reserata: a Memorial offered to the great Deservings of John Williams'' (''Archbishop Williams ):
(philosophy) Something being indicated that is there; one of those.
* 1998 , David L. Hall, Roger T. Ames, Thinking from the Han , page 247:
As adverbs the difference between about and that
is that about is not distant; approximate while that is to a given extent or degree.As a preposition about
is in a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.As an adjective about
is moving around; astir.As a conjunction that is
Introducing a clause that is the subject or object of a verb (such as one involving reported speech), or that is a complement to a previous statement.As a determiner that is
the (thing, person, idea, etc) indicated or understood from context, especially if more remote physically, temporally or mentally than one designated as "this", or if expressing distinction.As a pronoun that is
the thing, person, idea, quality, event, action, or time indicated or understood from context, especially if more remote geographically, temporally or mentally than one designated as "this", or if expressing distinction.As a noun that is
something being indicated that is there; one of those.about
English
(wikipedia about)Alternative forms
* (archaic) abowt; (abbreviation)Etymology 1
From (etyl) aboute, abouten, from (etyl)Preposition
(English prepositions)- So look about you; know you any here?
- Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
- Therefore I know she is about my height.
- And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace
- Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
- And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:
- [It] was held, that the latter requirement was fulfilled by an affidavit declaring that "the defendant was about leaving the State permanently."
- (Note: This use passes into the adverbial sense.)
- At this assurance the traveller rose, and approached Alice softly. He drew away her hands from her face, when she said gently, "Have you much money about you?"
- "Oh the mercenary baggage!" said the traveller to himself; and then replied aloud "Why, pretty one? Do you sell your kisses so high, then?"
- That heard the Adversary, who, roving still / About the world, at that assembly famed ...
- He had been known, during several years, as a small poet; and some of the most savage lampoons which were handed about the coffeehouses were imputed to him.
- And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
- RON: And I'll have the number 8.
- WAITER: That's a party platter, it serves 12 people.
- RON: I know what I'm about , son.
- I already have made way / To some Philistian lords, with whom to treat / About thy ransom.
- "I'll tell you what, Fanny: she must have her way about Sarah Thompson. You can see her to-morrow and tell her so."
Usage notes
* (on the point or verge of) In modern English, always followed by an infinitive that begins with to . An archaic or obsolete form instead follows the about with the present participle. * (concerning) Used as a function word to indicate what is dealt with as the object of thought, feeling, or action.Adverb
(-)Derived terms
* bring about * come about * go about * how about * roundabout * set about * walkabout * what about * whereaboutEtymology 2
From (etyl) about (adverb).Adjective
(-)Synonyms
* (moving around) around, active, mobile, astirStatistics
*References
that
English
(wikipedia that)Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)- He told me that the book is a good read.
- I believe that''' it is true.'' — ''She is convinced '''that he is British.
- Be glad that you have enough to eat.
- The hungry judges soon the sentence sign, and wretches hang that jurymen may dine.
- Ellen's mamma was going out to pay a visit, but she left the children a large piece of rich plumcake to divide between them, that they might play at making feasts.
- Jesus died that we might live "through" Him.
- The noise was so loud that she woke up.
- The problem was sufficiently important that it had to be addressed.
- My dad apparently always said that no child of his would ever be harassed for its poor eating habits, and then I arrived, and I was so disgusting that he revised his opinion.
- What, are you mad, that you do reason so?
- In short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
page 234:
- “She must be wonderfully fascinating,” said Mrs Morel, with scathing satire. “She must be very wonderful, that you should trail eight miles, backward and forward, after eight o’clock at night.”
- Was John there? — Not that''' I saw.'' — — — ''How often did she visit him? — Twice '''that I saw.
- " I will go anywhere that she may wish if she will go with me,"
- "Would that my rage and wrath would somehow stir me, / Here as I am, to cut off thy raw flesh / And eat it."
- "Oh, that they would be wise, and would understand, "
- I pray thee, mark me — that a brother should / Be so perfidious! —
Usage notes
* That'' can be used to introduce subordinate clauses, but can just as easily be omitted: one can say either "he told me that it's a good read" (in which case the second clause is a "''that clause") or "he told me it's a good read" (in which case the second clause is a "bare clause"). * Historically, "that" was usually preceded by a comma ("he told me, that it is a good read") — such usage was, for example, recommended by the grammarian Joseph Robertson in his 1785 essay On Punctuation — but this is now generally considered nonstandard. * Historically, that'' was sometimes used after a preposition to introduce a clause which was the object of the preposition, as in "after that things are set in order here, we'll follow them" (Shakespeare, ''1 Henry VI''), which simply means "after things are set in order..." and would be worded thus in modern English.''The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia (1903)Determiner
A Cuckoo in the Nest, chapter=1
The China Governess, chapter=20
Derived terms
* thatness *Pronoun
(English Pronouns)- To be, or not to be: that is the question: / Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them?
- [He] was qualified and fitted, both intellectually and morally, — and that to an exceptional extent — to be the Head
- "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal. I never did that . I always made up my mind I'd be a big man some day, and—I'm glad I didn't steal."
- However, the British were unable to do much about it short of going to war with St Petersburg, and that the government was unwilling to do.
- I've never seen someone beaten unconscious before. That ’s lesbians for you.
- He went home, and after that I never saw him again.
- "She is very honourable," said Mrs. Thompson, solemnly. "Yes, one sees she is that , and so simple-minded."
- the CPR course that she took really came in handy
- By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me.
England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report, passage=His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott.}}
Welcome to the plastisphere, passage=Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.}}
Usage notes
* Some authorities prescribe that that'' should only be used in restrictive contexts (where the relative clause is part of the identification of the noun phrase) and ''which'' or ''who''/''whom'' should be used in non-restrictive contexts; in other words, they prescribe "I like the last song on the album, which John wrote". In practice, both ''that'' and ''which are found in both contexts. * In a restrictive relative clause, that'' is never used as the object of a preposition unless the preposition occurs at the end of the clause; ''which'' is used instead. Hence "this is the car I spoke of" can be rendered as "this is the car ''that'' I spoke of" or "this is the car of which I spoke", but not as *"this is the car of ''that I spoke." * That'' refers primarily to people or things; ''which'' refers primarily to things, and ''who'' refers primarily to people. Some authorities insist ''who''/''whom'' be used when making reference to people, but others, such as the ''Merriam-Webster'' dictionary, write that such prescriptions are "without foundation" and use of ''that in such positions is common and "entirely standard". Hence, one sees both "he is the man who invented the telephone" and "he is the man that invented the telephone." * When that'' (or another relative pronoun, like ''who'' or ''which ) is used as the subject of a relative clause, the verb agrees with the antecedent of the pronoun. Thus "The thing that is...", "The things that are...", etc. * In the past, bare that'' could be used, with the meaning "the thing, person, etc indicated", where modern English requires ''that which'' or ''what''. Hence the King James translation of John 3:11 is "We speak ''that'' we do know, and testify ''that'' we have seen" while the New International Version has "we speak ''of what'' we know, and we testify ''to what we have seen".Antonyms
* (that thing) here, there, this, yon, yonderDerived terms
* at thatAdverb
(-)- "The ribbon was that''' thin." "I disagree, I say it was not '''that thin, it was thicker... or maybe thinner..."
- I'm just not that sick.
- I did the run last year, and it wasn't that difficult.
- Ooh, I was that happy I nearly kissed her.
- This was carried with that little noise that for a good space the vigilant Bishop was not awak'd with it.
Noun
(en noun)- As such, they do not have the ontological weight of "Being" and "Not-being," but serve simply as an explanatory vocabulary necessary to describe our world of thises and thats .