Instead of looking for a grammatical explanation for the use of a word or phrase, it's often better to search for real examples of usage.
Take the following question, for example. A student asked me:
Is there a difference between "in terms of" and "with regard to"? When and how should we use these phrases?
Task:
Can you find 3 examples of each of the two phrases in the student's question above? Use a search engine, such as Google, and choose examples that come from reliable sources (e.g. newspaper articles). Does this help you to see how and when the two phrases are used? Do you think there is a difference between them?
"in terms of"
1.We prefer to measure our company's success in terms of satisfied.
2. In terms of the status of the FBI investigation into your private e-mail server, have you been interviewed by the FBI yet?
3. The Economist is a great fertilizer for my mind in terms of setting new ideas.
"with regard to"
1. This study attempts to rank Canadian universities with regard to the productivity of their research capacity in economics.
2. The U.S. and France have been deepening their intelligence-sharing and coordination with regard to Islamic State.
3. It sometimes can be hard for forex traders of emerging market currencies to gauge which way the market will jump with regard to monetary policy moves.
Posted by: auau | April 09, 2016 at 14:23
I thinks these two phrases are slightly tbe same, but we should not replace them by each other.
-Should there be problems with regard to extra curriculum activities, students can go to student affairs office for more information.
-In terms of english speaking proficiency, numbers of foreign learners cannot pronunciate consonant clusters.
P.s: I found out that the two terms are genernally used in speaking english and also in terms of is often assessted as bad english.
Posted by: Truong | April 09, 2016 at 14:35
1) Asia dominates the map with population-heavy countries like India and China, while Russia and Canada, the world's two largest countries in terms of area, are completely dwarfed.
2) With regard to the law, it is no defence to certain criminal offences (e.g. phone-hacking) that any resulting story would be in the public interest.
source: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Posted by: Murad | April 09, 2016 at 15:17
I think these two phrases can be replaced with each other in most scenarios.
Posted by: mike.gou | April 09, 2016 at 16:07
Can somebody help me to criticize my writing because I don't have someone to correct my mistakes and I am near to take my exam. I want to know what is my wrong on this task. I am very happy if you give a harsh criticism on my writing because this will help me improve... I am looking forward for your comments. Thank you very much.
Q: As well as making money, businesses also have social responsibilities. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
While businesses make an unprecedented profit, it needs to be socially responsible such as protecting the environment, helping the poor people and so on. Apropos of this statement, I am completely accord with it.
First of all, although it is important for businesses to earn a profit, it is equally important for them to be socially responsible. A good example of this is to practice proper waste disposal in their workplace and to plant trees in the forest. Another example is to build free houses for the poor people. As a result, it will not only boost the morale of its employess but also creates a good reputation for them. More and more employees are most likely eager to work hard in their companies while companies are somewhat likely able to attract more and more customers and investors. This is because the companies give significant contribution to their societies.
On the other hand, unlike big businesses like Apple and Samsung companies which have big turnover of profit monthly, small business like small chain restaurants and grocery stores have small turnover of profit. If small companies will spend their money on social activities such as giving monetary donations to charities, feeding the homeless and so on, it would be an unsound profit for them. This is because they only earn lesser than big companies. However, I believe that it is a moral obligation for every business to be socially responsible. This is due to the fact that their businesses most likely grow because of the help of their societies. A case in point is the Apple and Samsung companies as well as small chain restaurant and grocery stores which earn a profit because of some people's spending habits in buying their products and services.
In conclusion, I completely agree with the idea that businesses have to be socially responsible. This is because it boost the morale of employees in their work, creates a good reputation for the company and is a company's moral obligation.
Posted by: karen | April 09, 2016 at 16:53
Hi Simon,
I was studying and I came across this writing task1 section( Cambridge ielts 7 , test 3). which really got me confused. This really shattered my brain because I did not how I was going to discuss percentage changes of the year 1989 and the period between 1990_1995. I don't know May be I am over analysing. Please help
Posted by: flo | April 09, 2016 at 19:52
Hi Simon,
I am a new user, I like your site. I use it daily.
But I cannot subscribe to this blog. Can you help me?
Posted by: Hasan | April 10, 2016 at 05:59
Hi Simon,
I couldn't find examples from newspapers but I have read some examples from the online dictionaries. I suppose these two expressions are identically used.
in terms of sth
but
with regard to sth and sb
is the only difference.
e.g. I don't know what to do in terms of John's problem.
e.g. What shall we do in regard to planning dinner? With regard to Bill, I think he is working too hard.
Posted by: Hasan | April 10, 2016 at 06:04
All your blogs are awesome.. I really love this Blog and I recommend every one who is taking IELTS exam must read and make a habit to visit this site.
Posted by: Cosmo Centre | April 10, 2016 at 07:34
1.With regard to the law, it is no defence to certain criminal offences (e.g. phone-hacking) that any resulting story would be in the public interest.
2.If you believe that a story breaches this Code or industry best practice but has a public interest justification you should discuss the terms of that justification as precisely as possible with your line manager and, if necessary, with other senior editorial
executives.
3.If you agree with a content provider that our use of a story, picture or video material should be restricted, either in terms of our initial publication or our syndication or exploitation of it, then you should inform the syndication department who will, in liaison with the in-house Legal Department and/or managing editor’s office, issue the appropriate restricted rights warning.
4.If you agree with a content provider that our use of a story, picture or video material should be restricted, either in terms of our initial publication or our syndication or exploitation of it, then you should inform the syndication department who will, in liaison with the in-house Legal Department and/or managing editor’s office, issue the appropriate restricted rights warning.
http://www.independent.co.uk/service/code-of-conduct-a6184241.html
Posted by: pachu | April 10, 2016 at 13:37
sorry, avoid 2 & 4 because 2 has no use of "in terms of" phrase and 4 is repeated.
Posted by: pachu | April 10, 2016 at 13:47
FROM SIMON:
Thanks for finding such good examples!
I would say that in most cases the two phrases mean the same thing and can be used in the same way. In fact, I can't find a dictionary that differentiates between them.
However, there are one or two examples where only "in terms of" seems to work.
For example: "We prefer to measure our company's success in terms of customer satisfaction". I wouldn't use "with regard to" in this situation. The sentence is saying that "we measure the company's success in one particular way: measuring customer satisfaction" (i.e. we don't look at other measures of success).
So, both phrases can mean "regarding", "concerning" or "on the subject of". However, "in terms of" can sometimes mean "in one particular way".
I hope this makes sense!
Posted by: Simon | April 10, 2016 at 18:42
Thanks Simon
Posted by: DR-ALI | April 11, 2016 at 11:13
In terms of:
1. I want to say thankyou in terms of money.
2. I want to do social service in terms of teaching.
3. My grand parents do alot for me children in terms of love.
With regards to:
1. I am giving you this money with regards to say thankyou.
2. I do teaching with regards to social service.
Posted by: Tani | April 11, 2016 at 11:55
they're basically the same.. right??
Posted by: jo marie | April 18, 2016 at 01:47