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Can I say...

About that you talked about the other day,

I have a question about that you talked about the other day

The issue is about that you were late last night.

Are they good to use? These are from my head. I wrote these things translating my thoughts directly into English, and thinking that it would be much easier if I could say this way.

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  • Could you please explain why you think this is correct or incorrect? For example, have you seen this expression elsewhere? Also,using more than one question mark (?) or exclamation point (!) at the end of a sentence is most often read as immature writing. I corrected this for you.
    – Andrew
    Commented Oct 3, 2018 at 15:38
  • Thank you for answering. These are from my head. I wrote these things translating my thoughts direcly into english, and thinking that it would be much easier if I could say this way. There’s nothing more. Maybe my grammar got obsolete as time passes and I’ll have to review more. Thanks. Commented Oct 3, 2018 at 18:13
  • Thanks for the additional information. Jason Bassford's answer is correct.
    – Andrew
    Commented Oct 3, 2018 at 20:05

1 Answer 1

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The following are more natural expressions (I would say that yours are ungrammatical):

About that . . .
About that dessert you talked about the other day . . .
About what you talked about the other day . . .

I have a question about that.
I have a question about that car you talked about the other day.
I have a question about what you talked about the other day.

The issue is about that.
The issue is about that club you were at late last night.
The issue is (about) where you were late last night.

That can be used as a demonstrative pronoun to talk about something already mentioned or being currently "pointed to." (As with the first and second variations of the above examples—in the second of which it is followed by something else). Or, it should be replaced by another word. (As with the third variation of the above examples.)


Note that in the first example, the ellipses can be used to indicate a couple of things.

One is that there is a conversation taking place, and the person talking is actually trailing off and not saying anything else. In response, the other person might say, "Yes?"

The second is that there is actually something that follows but I've just omitted it for the sake of brevity:

About that: What did you mean?
About that dessert you talked about the other day. Did you finish it?
About what you talked about the other day—I still don't understand. [And so on.]

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  • Jason, I might add that after the first three, one would say something else. Three periods might not be obvious to a non-native speaker....:)
    – Lambie
    Commented Oct 3, 2018 at 16:09
  • @Lambie Good idea. Commented Oct 3, 2018 at 16:41

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