preposition

Question

What is the difference between related to and related with

Clive · Accepted Answer

Assume Tom is Jim's father.

Tom is related to Jim. This is common standard English.

Tom is related with Jim. This is incorrect.

Clive

BunnyBunny · Answer

Thanks Clive for your answer.Can we use related with in any context?

Dave_anon · Answer

Hi

It's a good question and I think the answer is:

If you are using the verb to describe family relations, then it is always 'to':

- Am I related to her? Of course - she's my sister

If you are using the verb about the telling of a story, you can use 'to' to say who it is being told to:

- My grandfather related to me how he had been shot in the war

... or, with the same verb, you can you can use 'with' to describe how it was told:

- He related with great enjoyment his tales of the war

(And, of course, you can do both ...)

- My grandfather related to me, with great enjoyment, tales of when he was a soldier

Sometimes, you might see the verb like this:

- He was a carpenter and he could really relate with hammers

... but my feeling is that last one is just not OK

Perhaps someone will come along with a comment on that last but, in the meantime, I'd avoid it

Dave

Clive · Answer

It's hard to find a context for 'related with'

eg Tom heard the news that he and the murderer were related with shock and disbelief.

'Related' can mean 'told'.
eg The story he told was related with care..

Clive

Dave_anon · Answer

Hi

I think I largely agree with Clive, but I'm not absolutely sure about something like:

- Before my father died of dementia, he still spent time in his carpentry shop. I think it was one of the last things he related with

That - sort of - seems OK to me

Dave

Clive · Answer

Sounds 'off' to me, Dave.

Clive

Dave_anon · Answer

.. hmm. As in 'off-label'? That's something that works, even though, officially, it isn't supposed to

Dave (-:

Clive · Answer

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