Related To: Standard Pattern
Related To: Standard Pattern records the directly documented related-to construction and keeps other prepositions tied to their separately evidenced senses.
Cambridge documents “related to” for connection and family relationship, while separately showing “related by marriage” for that specific relationship.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| connected with or concerning something | related to + noun | Use “to” for the general connection. |
| family connection in the ordinary general construction | related to + person | Use “to” to name the relative or family connection. |
| specific relationship created through marriage | related by marriage | The reviewed source separately records “by marriage” for that sense. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you expressing a general connection or family relationship?
If yes: Use “related to.”
If no: If you specifically mean a relationship through marriage, “related by marriage” is separately documented.
Caveat: Do not turn “related to” into a universal rule for every relationship phrase; “related by marriage” is a documented specific alternative.
Examples
The issue is related to the earlier change.
“To” introduces the matter connected with the issue.
Are the two applicants related to each other?
The construction can express family relationship.
They are related by marriage.
“By marriage” is the documented specific relationship phrase.
Further guidance
Construction
Cambridge directly uses related to for connected subjects and family relationships.
Style Boundary
Related by can be appropriate in a separately documented phrase such as related by marriage; that does not create a general related-with alternative.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- related — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Cambridge dictionary evidence for related to in the connected and family senses, with related by marriage separately documented.