Hi, there

Should I say “study” or “study about” in these sentences?

“You’ll have to study a lot of foreign policy and international relations for your exam this week”
Or
“You’ll have to study a lot ABOUT international policy and international relations for your exam this week”

And

“I need to study a lot of/study a lot ABOUT basic computer skills for my computer literacy exam”

Thank you!

Question

Hi, there

Should I say “study” or “study about” in  these sentences?

“You’ll have to study a lot of foreign policy and international relations for your exam this week” 
Or
“You’ll have to study a lot ABOUT international policy and international relations for your exam this week”

And

“I need to study a lot of/study a lot ABOUT basic computer skills for my computer literacy exam”

Thank you!

Answer

"A lot of" sounds more natural in these cases. I don't think using "about" makes it grammatically incorrect but "about" has this certain function and meaning that doesn't fit well with the sentence. It's like you can say 'this book is about math' but can't say 'this book is of math'

Answer

P.s., in speech many people will say 'I'm studying about pollution' etc.

Answer

I think the difference here is quite subtle, but we tend to 'study a lot of German', or 'we study a lot of  science'.  In fact, 'we study maths', or 'we study science'.  The 'of' belongs to the extra phrase 'a lot of' that you are wanting to include.  Therefore, 'we study... a lot of...' and 'We study a lot of' is quite correct.  I hope that makes sense.