Meaning & use
relating
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“relating” is a form of “relate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbafter a verb
Being connected with, or having to do with, a particular subject, person or situation; almost always used in the phrase relating to.
Grammar: Follows a noun and takes to: questions relating to housing, much like a preposition meaning about.
Patterns
- something relating to something
Please send any documents relating to your application by Friday.
The police are investigating several incidents relating to the break-in.
He answered every question relating to the budget.
verbtransitiveformal
Telling a story or describing events to someone, usually in a spoken or careful way.
Grammar: Takes an object: relating a story, relating what happened.
Patterns
- relate something to someone
She spent the evening relating her travels to the guests.
The old sailor was relating a tale about a storm at sea.
He is relating events exactly as he remembers them.
verbintransitive
Finding a link between things, or feeling that you understand and share another person's experience.
Grammar: Needs to when followed by a person or thing: relating to teenagers; the thing linked can also be an object with to.
Patterns
- relate to someone
- relate something to something
Many readers are relating to the main character's struggles.
The study is relating sleep patterns to exam results.
He has trouble relating to people his own age.
Word forms
| base form | relate |
|---|---|
| third person singular | relates |
| past tense | related |
| -ing form | relating |
Common combinations
- issues relating to
- The meeting covers issues relating to safety.
- information relating to
- Keep all information relating to the case in one folder.
- relating to children
- The law has rules relating to children in cars.
- relating to each other
- The two ideas are relating to each other in surprising ways.
- relating a story
- He was relating a story about his first job.
Synonyms and how they differ
- concerning
- Concerning is a slightly more formal way to say about, and relating to is the more common fixed phrase in official writing.
- regarding
- Regarding is typically used to introduce a topic, as in a letter, while relating to modifies a noun directly.
- connected with
- Connected with often suggests a direct link such as cause or association, whereas relating to can be looser.
- describing
- Describing is plain and general for telling something, while relating a story sounds more formal and storytelling.
Opposites
Word family
- relation noun
- a link between two things, or a family member
- relationship noun
- the way two people or things are connected
- related adjective
- connected, or belonging to the same family
- relative noun
- a member of your family
- unrelated adjective
- not connected
Commonly confused: relating or relation?
relating vs relation
Relation is a noun for a link or a family member, while relating is the verb form. Do not say relation to when you mean the phrase relating to.
Practice
Please answer all questions ___ your travel plans.
Choose one answer.
Relating to means concerning or connected with and follows the noun it modifies. The other options use the wrong preposition or form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “relating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.