We use “I’m about to…” when we want to say that something is going to happen very soon. It shows that an action will start in the next few moments. People use this expression in daily conversations at home, school, work, travel, and with friends. For example, if you are ready to go to the office, you can say, “I’m about to leave.” If a meeting is starting in a few minutes, you can say, “I’m about to start the meeting.” This expression helps your English sound more natural and fluent because native speakers use it often in everyday speaking situations.
◎ Important Points
• “About to” means very close to doing something.
• Use it for actions that will happen soon.
• Put the main verb after “about to”.
• Use the base form of the verb.
• Do not use “about for” or “about start”.
• It is commonly used in spoken English.
• It makes conversations sound more natural.
➤Key Concept
✅ Sentence Structure: Subject + am/is/are + about to + base verb + object
Example: I am about to start my class.
Main Concept:
Use about to when an action is going to happen in a very short time.
Speaking Tip:
Use “I’m about to…” in daily situations to sound more natural in conversations.
➤ Common Mistakes To Avoid
| Common Mistake | Wrong Example | Correct Example |
|---|---|---|
| Missing “to” | I am about leave. | I am about to leave. |
| Using verb with -ing | I am about to leaving. | I am about to leave. |
| Wrong helping verb | I about to start work. | I am about to start work. |
| Using wrong verb form | She is about to started. | She is about to start. |
| Wrong word order | About to I am go. | I am about to go. |
➤ Examples
- I’m about to leave for the office.
- She is about to start her online class.
- We are about to eat dinner.
- My train is about to arrive.
- I’m about to call my friend.
- They are about to begin the meeting.
- Dad is about to drive to work.
- I’m about to sleep now.
- The movie is about to start.
- We are about to leave for the airport.
➤ Practice Examples
Fill in the blanks
- I am about to ______ my homework.
- She is about to ______ dinner.
- We are about to ______ the meeting.
- He is about to ______ the bus.
- They are about to ______ home.
Change incorrect sentence to correct one
- I am about leave now.
- She about to start work.
- We are about to going outside.
- He is about to slept.
- They about to leave.
Speak this sentence aloud
- I’m about to leave for work.
- I’m about to start my class.
- We are about to eat lunch.
- She is about to call her friend.
- The meeting is about to begin.
