| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| relative to, relating to (preps.) |
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| These two compound prepositions mean much the same as concerning and about: We have a report relative to [relating to, concerning, about] trends in the economy. The several commentators who object that both are vague and pretentious are right: the compound prepositions imply by their circumlocutory length that they can specify the nature of things more explicitly than about can, but in fact they are even less explicit: in the example, they merely relate the report in some wholly unspecified way to the topic, whereas about implies at least what the topic of the report is. Use about or concerning—either is quicker, clearer, and more accurate than relative to or relating to. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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