"Concern" or "Be concerned"?

These two verbal expressions tend to be misused.

"to concern" means "to be about" as in this example:

• "The passage I have read concerns the problem of pollution in HK."

"to be concerned" means "to be worried" and is often used with "about" or "for". Here are two examples that show you how to use this:

• "His mother was concerned about his poor results."
• "The police were concerned for the safety of the missing hiker."