Use of the terms in regard to, regarding, regardless, with respect to, and so on, is basically idiomatic, and the grammatical recommendations are fairly black and white.
There are some donāts:
irregardless--This is simply wrong; use regardless instead.
All pupils are required to wear a uniform, regardless of their preferences.
in regards to--This is called illiterate in "American Usage and Style, The Consensus.1" Use in regard to, regarding, concerning, about, or with respect to instead.
In regard to your June 5 memo, the due date will be changed to August 8.
in some regards--This is somewhat colloquial; in some respects is better in formal writing.
She has been an exemplary scholar in some respects.
in respect to--When it means "about" or "concerning," use with respect to to avoid confusion with having respect for.
International diplomats criticized Moscowās actions with respect to Chechnya.
There are also various grades of preferred usage. As in other domains, simpler is usually better. "American Usage and Style, The Consensus1" recommends regarding, concerning, or about rather than the wordier in regard to and with regard to, although these two are correct:
He spoke to me in regard to his job performance.
He spoke to me about his job performance.
With regard to buying practices, I feel that is my private business.
Concerning buying practices, I feel that is my private business.
Regarded as is a synonym of considered:
He was considered a great leader.
He was regarded as a great leader.
Avoid considered as and termed as, which are a bit colloquial. Instead use considered or termed.
She was considered a hypergrammatical boor, or was that bore?
In correct writing of the distant past, consider has been used without the infinitive to be, but this use is currently disputed.
He was considered reckless.
Though that sounds more acceptable to our ears now than it used to, many still think that itās better to say
He was considered to be reckless.
Another colloquial use is
She considered that he was reckless.
This makes me think of iced-tea-sipping ladies in South Carolina. It causes some ambiguity by equating to consider with to think rather than to regard.
1Copperud, Roy H.: American Usage and Style, The Consensus. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, Inc., 1980.
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