Subjects & Topics 
Subjects & Topics

1. Ways of saying what the subject of something is

about preposition

 The book is about a boy named Huckleberry Finn. 
 In her novels she writes about life in South Africa. 
 Scientists are still trying to answer the great questions about the nature and origins of
the universe.

on preposition about a particular subject:

 Professor Jones has written a number of books and articles on this subject.
 The Club has published its annual report on mountaineering and walking accidents in 
Scotland.

on the subject of / on the topic of about a particular subject:

 Hundreds of books have been written on the subject of population growth. 
 She gave a series of lectures on the topic of nutrition. 

concerning /  regarding	preposition  formal  words meaning "about a particular
subject or point":
 The laws concerning child care and child protection will need to be reviewed.
 The report raises a number of important questions regarding food safety.

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
Don't say 'regarding to' or 'concerning to'. Just say regarding or concerning.

with regard to  a formal phrase meaning  "about something", used  especially to
introduce a subject, for example in a letter or report:
 Dear Sir, I am writing with regard to your advertisement in the Times. 
 The college has adopted a tough approach with regard to racism and sexism.
 With regard to  the  recent series of terrorist attacks,  it  is likely that the police will be 
given new powers of arrest.

deal with	phrasal verb  to  write about or be  about a particular subject, especially a 
serious one, and examine it carefully and in detail: 


 I will deal with the issue of pricing later.
 Chapter 5 deals with Italian art in the 15th century.

be concerned with adjective to  be about a particular subject, especially a serious 
one, and examine it carefully and in detail:
 Most  of  the book  is  concerned with  the relationship between politicians and the 
media.

focus on verb  [intransitive] to  deal mainly with a particular subject  or problem and 
examine it in detail:
 In this essay	I  will focus  on  some  of  the  results from recent  research into brain 
function.
 The study focuses on the economic and social consequences of unemployment.
 She chose to focus on her home country, Brazil, for her dissertation. 

tell the story of to describe what happened to someone or something:

 The play tells the story of a trip to Germany by an American woman and her husband.
 Snow White tells the story of a beautiful young princess and her jealous stepmother.



2. Words meaning subject

subject noun [countable] the thing that someone writes or talks about:

 The main subject of the book is the history of the English language.
 The author deals with a range of different subjects in his article. 
 A number of papers have been written on this subject. (=about this subject)
 The case was the subject of a Hollywood film.

topic	noun  [countable]  a subject  that people often  discuss or write about, in  books,
newspapers, at school etc:
 The course covers topics such as interview techniques and giving presentations.
 Global warming continues to be a major topic of discussion.

theme noun [countable]  an important idea that appears several times in a book, film, 
play etc, and influences its development:
 Man's relationship with nature is a common theme in his work.
 One of the main themes of the article is the importance of good dental care.
 Feminine beauty is a recurring theme (=a theme that appears often) in Western art.



issue noun [countable] an important subject or problem that people discuss and argue 
about:
 Dealing with climate change is one of the biggest issues facing the world today.
 The research raises a number of important issues. (=it brings these issues to people's 
attention)
 The problem of population growth is a major issue in developing countries. 
 Abortion remains a highly controversial issue. (=people argue about it a lot and have 
strong feelings about it)

question noun [countable] a difficult subject or problem that has often been discussed
but still needs to be solved:
 Scientists have been trying to find  the answers to  these	questions  for hundreds  of
years.
 We want to be protected from terrorist attacks. However, this also raises the question 
of (=it makes you want to discuss this question) how we can protect our basic freedoms 
as citizens. 
 The  research	addresses  some 	fundamental questions  about the  nature  of
knowledge. (=it tries to deal with some very basic and important questions)

matter noun [countable] a subject. You use matter or matters especially when talking
in a general and rather vague way about a subject:
 I have little experience in these matters.
 Various matters were dealt with at the meeting. 
 an expert on financial matters
 He held strong views on religious matters.
 People often do not want to discuss personal matters with their employer.
 Some  people do not  think that car crime is very important,  but  in fact it is a serious
matter. 
 In his book  he gets right  to	the heart of the  matter. (=the most important  part of  a
subject)

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
Matter is used about things in general, often without naming them. Issue and question
are  more  specific. Don't write sentences  such as 'Pollution is a big  matter', when you 
mean: Pollution is a very important issue.
