Regarding and Regardless

This week on Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Ramatoulaye in Senegal. Here is Ramatoulaye’s question:

Dear teacher,

Thank you and all the VOA Learning English team for their great work! My question is: what is the difference between “regarding” and “regardless?”

Thank you for your comments, Ramatoulaye. And I am happy to answer your question.

Both words are very useful in speaking and writing. That’s because the words give us a quick way to connect to other ideas.

“Regarding” simply means what someone is talking or writing about. Consider the following two examples:

We have all the information we need about the project.

We have all the information we need regarding the project.

The word “regarding” in the second example means the same thing as the preposition “about” in the first example. We generally use the word “about” more than “regarding.” However, it is more common to use “regarding” in formal speech than in informal communication.

Also, the expression “in regard to” means the same thing as “regarding.” Here are some examples:

In regard to the price, I think it was too expensive.

In regard to what you said, I don’t think we know all the facts yet.

Note that we use a noun, noun phrase, or noun clause after the expression “in regard to.” Also, you will sometimes hear native speakers say “in regards to” instead of “in regard to.”

Here is something you may find interesting when we compare the expression “in regard to” and the verb “regard.” The verb “regard” is a somewhat formal way to say, “look at.” So, just as we can direct someone’s attention to something by having them look at it, the expression “in regard to” directs us to something we are talking about.

Regardless

The word “regardless” expresses the idea that one or more things do not affect the current situation or what we want to express now. When you look at the word, you will see that it ends with the suffix -less. This suffix means the same thing as the word “without.” So, “regardless” means “without regard to.”

Consider the following examples.

Regardless of religion, all people want happiness.

All people want happiness, regardless of religion.

Notice that you can use the word “regardless” either before or after the sentence or phrase it modifies.

For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English? Regardless of your level of English, we want to hear from you! Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. And please let us know where you are from, too.

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

I’m Andrew Smith.

Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.

modify -v. in grammar, to limit or specify the meaning of another word

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