The use of Related to as an adjective, meaning “cause concern”, criticized by some as using the present participle of the verb mind. However, there are countless precedents in English for the present participle of verbs being used as an adjective: trouble, alarming, care about, to name a few. So what is the concern about participle adjectives Related to?
‘Concerning’ tends to be less threatening than similar words ‘alarming’ or ‘distressing’.
First, review participles. Has present participle, has ending -ingand past participle, usually ending in -d or -ed. The present participle is sometimes used as an adjective for something that causes a certain feeling or emotion to overwhelm a person or animal—for example, when one describes a clown as “desirable.” scared”, the person is saying that the clown is scaring them. On the other hand, the past participle is used as an adjective to describe a person or animal who has experienced a certain feeling or emotion, as in “frightened dog”, which means someone or thing something (maybe a clown) has been through. scare the dog. Both participles are transitive verbs frighten. (Transition verbs have an object; the implied person and the dog shown in our examples are the objects of fear.)
Mind is also a transitive verb related to feeling or emotion, as in “The child’s behavior in relation to the parent” (the subject is “the parent”). It is from its past participle that we get the adjective concerned, as in “concerned parent.” As a rule, the present participle can also be applied as an adjective—and it has been since the 17th century, when it appeared as “important”, in structures such as “a very worthy question”. care to ponder.” A century later, Related to can also mean “to give reason for concern.” Inexplicably, the adjective fell out of use in the 20th century. However, towards the end of that century, it experienced a resurgence – to the chagrin of those striving for clarity.
Adjective objections are mainly related to sentences such as “Relevant text message” becoming a hindrance for those who expect an object to follow the verb. “Related to what?” they ask (usually with an exclamation mark added to emphasize and show frustration). Alternatively, they may show that Related to being misused for confused, which means “disturbing” or “annoying”. (It seems that rewording our example to “a related text message” would avoid this criticism entirely.)
relate to could very well be considered an egg of confused. In statements like “The text message contains some relevant content” or “Related to the building not being inspected”, it can certainly be argued that confused being misinterpreted as Related to. However, evidence of usage shows a tendency for people to use the adjective Related tomeans “cause concern,” without fear of criticism.
As intimidating as driverless cars may seem, the change can be hard for many to accept. … Just look at how many people feel embarrassed every time Apple changes the charging cord on the iPhone. Yes, that is related. But, we adapted… because we had to. — David Sturt and Todd Nordstrom, ForbesApril 14, 2017
One reason for the increase in usage could be the softer and less threatening meaning of the word as opposed to similar words like alarming, troubleAnd anguished. When an issue is said to be “worrisome,” it’s worrisome, but the concept of a call-to-action warning usually doesn’t come to mind.
In many cases, say [Martin] Taylor, the conservation status of birds in the region is directly related to the human need for the resources that fuel extensive programs of agriculture, afforestation, mining, and urban development. . “Habitat loss is one of the most worrying threats while pollution from agricultural, mining and manufacturing hubs is also worrying.” — Online Independence (South Africa), March 10, 2018
We have no reason to criticize the use of the present participle Related to as an adjective, since its formation and application are consistent with its other types. However, we recommend avoiding putting it at the end of a sentence, especially in formal writing. Not everyone is familiar with (or accepts) this adjective, and not everyone realizes that you intentionally set the period as a stylistic choice, not a typo. They might just think you’re trying to make fun of them.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
