We are going back to some grammar basics because of an interesting e-mail that I received many years ago from a
Manila Times reader. Mr. Dante Q., a Filipino based in Vallejo, California, asked for my thoughts on certain words and phrases that were bugging him. In particular, he wondered which of these are advisable to use and which might have already fallen into disuse: “about,” “regarding,” “concerning,” “touching on,” “in terms of,” and “on account of.” I guess my answer to Dante will be of interest to all users and learners of English, so I am devoting this column entirely to it.
The words that Dante was asking about are
prepositions or prepositional phrases, those handy grammatical devices we use for referring to things or for relating them to one another. In the case of the six that Dante mentioned, all are still very much in use. The first four, of course, mean the same thing: “in connection with” or “on the subject of.” The shortest word that precisely conveys those meanings is “about,” and it is arguably our best choice for sentences that require reference: “
About our agreement last night, put it on hold until next week.” “I have second thoughts
about what we agreed on an hour ago.”
“Regarding” and “concerning” have a mildly officious and legalistic undertone, but if that doesn’t bother us, we can use them freely in place of “about”: “
Regarding your application for a salary loan, you may expect release in two weeks.” “We are writing you
concerning your daughter’s academic performance.” On the other hand, the usage of the phrase “touching on” is restrictive; it is appropriate only in constructions like this: “
Touching on the subject of romance, he became a spellbinding speaker.” “It will help if you
touch on the subject of salary increases in your briefing.” By some quirk of the language, “touch on” seems to work only when it latches on to the phrase “the subject of.” We thus ought to avoid it if we can.
“In terms of,” which means “considering,” and “on account of,” which means “because,” are also perfectly respectable prepositional phrases: “A time deposit is superior to a savings deposit
in terms of interest income.” “We canceled the games
on account of the inclement weather.” We must also take note here that “in view of,” “owing to,” and “due to” can very well take the place of “on account of” in that sentence; the choice really depends on what our profession is and the company we keep. (Lawyers gravitate to “in view of” for their own reasons, but if you ask a nonlawyer like me, I’d much prefer to use “due to” most of the time.)
More phrases abound that mean the same thing as “about,” but we are well advised to stay away from them. They can give our prose a false, awkward tone, particularly the following abstruse prepositional phrases: “in regard to,” “with regard to,” “with respect to,” in accordance with,” “in connection with,” “in conformance to,” “by reason of,” and “as to.” Two really archaic or obsolete ones, “anent” and “apropos of,” are best avoided altogether.
Scores of other prepositional phrases in the English language are too long-winded for comfort; we should always make it a point of honor to replace them with their more concise equivalents. Here are they are with their no-nonsense counterparts:
IMAGE CREDIT: PINTEREST.COM“at such time” (“when”),
“at that point in time” (“then,” “now”),
“by means of” (“by”),
“by reason of” (“by”),
“by virtue of” (“by,” “under”),
“despite the fact that” (“although”),
“due to the fact that” (“because”),
“during the course of,”
“in the course of” (“during”),
“for the amount of” (“for”),
“for the purpose of” (“for,” “under”),
“from the point of view of” (“from,” “for”),
“in order to” (“to”),
“in accordance with” (“by,” “under”),
“in a manner similar to” (“like”),
“in excess of” (“more than,” “over”),
“in favor of” (“for”),
“in relation to” (“about,” “concerning”),
“in the nature of” (“like”),
“in the immediate vicinity of” (“near”),
“in close proximity to” (“near”),
“in the present” (“now”),
“on one occasion” (“once”),
“on the basis of” (“by,” “from”),
“subsequent to” (“after”),
“until such time as” (“until”),
“with a view to” (“to”),
“with reference to” (“about,” “concerning”),
“with regard to” (“about,” “concerning”),
and
“with respect to” (“about,” “concerning”).
And when it comes to our personal and official correspondence, we should mercilessly eliminate these prepositional clichés on sight:
“acknowledge receipt of,”
“it has come to my attention,”
“at this writing,”
“attached thereto,”
“receipt is hereby acknowledged,”
“please be advised that,”
“enclosed herewith,”
“thank you in advance,”
and—as I suggested in an earlier column—
“more power to you!”
It there’s one rule we should live by in the use of prepositional phrases, it is to choose the simplest, most forthright ones that can precisely convey our meaning.
This essay first appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the March 12, 2004 issue of The Manila Times
, © 2004 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
