Focus on means to give your attention and effort to something. It is used about a person who has chosen what matters and is not getting distracted: focus on the exam. About a book, course or study, focus on means to be about something: The report focuses on young drivers.
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focus on + noun/-ing; focus your attention/efforts on + noun; the course/report + focuses on + topic
- I leave my phone in a locker at the library so I can focus on revision.
- This week our team will focus on fixing bugs, not adding new features.
- The course focuses on academic writing, especially essays and reports.
What changed
First versionBefore the exam, I need to focus myself on grammar.
RevisionBefore the exam, I need to focus on grammar.
Focus on already means to concentrate, so myself is unnecessary: focus on grammar. Adding a reflexive pronoun may feel natural, but English does not use one with this verb.
Concentrate on is very close, but it more often stresses the effort of not getting distracted: I can't concentrate with this noise. Focus on is more about choosing what matters most: In the essay, focus on two main reasons.
Your turn
This term I want to ___ my speaking, so I'll practise with a partner every week.
Show the answer
focus on improving — After the preposition on, a verb takes -ing, so focus on improving. Improve without -ing cannot follow a preposition, and the same is true of any other verb.
Imagine you have one week left before an exam or an important report. Write what you will focus on and what you will give up during that time.
With one week left before the exam, I'll focus on writing practice essays and stop watching TV series in the evenings.
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