ENGLISH
REFERENCE

in relation to sb/sth

prep. phr..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

prep. phr.. you use this to show how one thing is connected to or compared with another.

prep. phr.. a complex prepositional phrase used to establish a connection, comparison, or relevance between two entities or concepts.


SIMPLE

I have some questions in relation to your plan.

CONTEXTUAL

The price of the house is quite low in relation to its large size.

COMPLEX

The court must consider the defendant's actions in relation to the specific laws governing digital privacy and data protection.

Usage

often used in formal reports or discussions to link two topics or to show a ratio.

Teaching tip

encourage students to use this as a more formal alternative to 'about' or 'compared with' when writing essays or business emails.

Pitfall

in relation with the projectin relation to the projectthe fixed preposition following 'relation' in this phrase is 'to', not 'with'.

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