About to, According to | Common English Expressions

About to

About to means ‘just going to’.

  • We are about to have lunch. (= We are going to have lunch.)
  • She was about to leave for work when he arrived.

According to

Do not give your own opinions with according to. Instead, use an expression like ‘in my opinion’.

  • According to the time table, the train arrives at 3.30 pm.
  • In my opinion, he is a nice guy. (NOT According to me, he is a nice guy.)
  • According to scientists, smoking can cause cancer.
  • According to Rohan, Maya’s boyfriend is a fraud.

Difference between across and through

The difference between across and through is similar to the difference between on and in.

  • We walked across the desert. (We were on the desert.)
  • We walked through the wood. (We were in the wood.)

Adjectives: order

Numbers go before adjectives.

  • Six blue shirts (NOT Blue six shirts)

Ordinal numbers (e.g. first, second, third etc.) usually go before cardinal numbers (e.g. one, two, three etc.)

  • The first two weeks (More natural than ‘the two first weeks’)
  • The last two days were very wet.

Adjectives of colour, origin, material and purpose usually go in that order.

  • Blue Spanish leather sports shoes
  • I bought two German glass flower vases from the store.

Adjectives after as, how, so, too

Adjectives normally go after the article a/an. However, adjectives can go before articles in a special structure.

  • I can’t afford that big a car. (NOT I can’t afford that a big car.)
  • It was so warm a day that I didn’t go out. (NOT It was a so warm day that I didn’t go out.)