Serious About: Standard Pattern
Serious About: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “serious about” when the complement names a plan, action, subject, or relationship that someone is genuinely determined or committed about.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| genuinely determined to pursue an activity | serious about + -ing | Use “about” before the activity in -ing form. |
| genuinely committed to a plan, subject, goal, or relationship | serious about + noun/pronoun | Use “about” before the thing or matter. |
| “serious” meaning grave, important, or not humorous | separate sense | Do not assume every use of “serious” requires “about.” |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Do you mean genuinely committed to or determined about the following plan, action, subject, or relationship?
If yes: Use “serious about” + noun or -ing form.
If no: If “serious” instead means grave, important, or not joking, use the construction required by that separate sense.
Caveat: This pattern is tied to the commitment/determination sense documented by the source.
Examples
She is serious about applying for the program.
The activity follows “about” in -ing form.
They are serious about the project.
A noun phrase can name the matter of commitment.
He seems serious about making the change permanent.
“About + -ing” expresses genuine determination.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “serious about” when the complement names a plan, action, subject, or relationship that someone is genuinely determined or committed about.
Style Boundary
Cambridge directly documents “serious about”; keep this page to that determined/committed sense rather than treating every meaning of “serious” as requiring “about.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- SERIOUS | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct Cambridge dictionary evidence for serious about when expressing determination about a plan, action, subject, or relationship.