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< Usage 8—Translating the Preposition “About”

Usage 8—Translating the Preposition “About”

The word “о” (which sometimes takes the form “об” or “обо”) is a preposition. It causes considerable trouble for language learners. While its meaning is similar to that of the English preposition “about”, you cannot just blindly replace “about” with “о”. If you do, then Russians will not understand you (unless they have been exposed to English).

When used with the prepositional (locative) case it means “about” in the sense of “wrapped about”, but figuratively. Generally it identifies an incident which someone describes or runs over in his mind.

We should mention in passing that “о” is occasionally used with the accusative case. Then it means “pressed up against” its object. This sense is literal. For example:

The Difficulty

Language learners coming from English have difficulty using о/об/обо correctly with the prepositional case. More precisely, they overuse it, use it in places where an entirely different expression is required. As a general rule, it should be used where one means that some idea or event is gone over either as a story or in one’s mind. But it should not be used to talk about how one ‘views’ something.

Used Appropriately in These Expressions

говорить об этом—to talk about that

рассказывать об этом—to tell about that

сожалеть об этом—to have regrets about that

думать об этом—to think about that

спросить об этом—to ask about that

спросить об этом—to ask about that

просить о помочи—to make a request about help