met betrekking tot
With Regard to
Met betrekking tot (often abbreviated as m.b.t.) is a formal way to say 'about' or 'regarding' in professional, legal, or academic Dutch.
How It Works
The phrase met betrekking tot consists of three parts: the preposition met (with), the noun betrekking (relation/regard), and the preposition tot (to). Together, they function as a single unit.
1. Usage and Register
This pattern is a staple of administrative Dutch. You will encounter it frequently in formal letters, legal contracts, and academic papers. However, modern Dutch style guides often advise against overusing it to avoid 'preposition pile-up' (voorzetselstapeling) and bureaucratic wordiness. To improve readability and conciseness, learners should consider replacing it with simpler prepositions like over or voor where possible. The expression wat betreft serves as a semi-formal middle ground—more professional than over but less stiff than met betrekking tot.
2. Semantic Nuance and Synonyms
While over simply indicates a general topic, met betrekking tot implies a direct link or applicability. It is often compared to ten aanzien van, but there is a subtle difference: ten aanzien van often implies 'towards' or 'in the eyes of' (e.g., behavior towards others), whereas met betrekking tot is strictly about a topical connection.
3. Word Order and Inversion
When you start a sentence with this phrase, it acts as the first element. Because of the verb-second rule, the verb must come immediately after the phrase, followed by the subject.
4. Abbreviations
In written documents, it is very common to see m.b.t. instead of the full phrase. Be careful not to confuse this with t.a.v.; while t.a.v. can stand for ten aanzien van, it is most commonly used in address blocks to mean ter attentie van (to the attention of).
Examples (4)
- Heeft u nog vragen met betrekking tot het contract?
Do you have any further questions regarding the contract?
Word by Word: Have you still questions with regard to the contract?
A standard formal question used in business settings.
- Met betrekking tot uw sollicitatie nemen wij spoedig contact op.
With regard to your application, we will contact you soon.
Word by Word: With regard to your application take we soon contact up.
Notice the inversion where the verb 'nemen' comes before the subject 'wij'.
- De nieuwe regels m.b.t. privacy zijn nu van kracht.
The new rules regarding privacy are now in effect.
Word by Word: The new rules m.b.t. privacy are now of power.
This shows the common abbreviation 'm.b.t.' used in a formal statement.
- Er is veel onduidelijkheid met betrekking tot de nieuwe wetgeving.
There is a lot of uncertainty concerning the new legislation.
Word by Word: There is much uncertainty with regard to the new legislation.
Used here to link the 'uncertainty' to the specific topic of 'legislation'.
Common Mistakes
Using the wrong preposition 'op' instead of 'tot'.
Ik schrijf u met betrekking op de factuur.Ik schrijf u met betrekking tot de factuur.Learners often confuse this phrase with the verb 'betrekking hebben op' (to relate to). The prepositional phrase always uses 'tot'.
Forgetting inversion when starting a sentence with the phrase.
Met betrekking tot de planning, wij gaan morgen beginnen.Met betrekking tot de planning gaan wij morgen beginnen.In Dutch, if the sentence starts with a prepositional phrase, the verb must come next. See V2 inversion.
Using 'met betrekking tot' (formal) in a casual message.
Different MeaningIk wil je iets vragen met betrekking tot het feestje vanavond.Ik wil je iets vragen over het feestje vanavond.Using 'met betrekking tot' with friends sounds unnaturally stiff and bureaucratic. Use over instead.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand 'met betrekking tot', you need to be familiar with basic Dutch prepositions like 'met'. This is a fixed, formal prepositional phrase used to introduce a specific topic or reference point, similar to 'regarding' or 'with respect to' in English.
- metWith
The phrase starts with the preposition 'met', which is a fundamental building block of this formal expression.
Level 1 - vanOf/From
Understanding the preposition 'van' is necessary because 'tot' functions similarly in this prepositional phrase to indicate direction or scope, and 'van' is a foundational preposition for relationship markers.
Level 1 - wat betreftRegarding/As for
This is a semantically related topic marker; understanding how to introduce a topic formally helps in grasping the usage of 'met betrekking tot'.
Level 4
Related Patterns
- ten aanzien vanWith Respect to
A highly formal synonym often used interchangeably with 'met betrekking tot' in legal and official contexts.
Level 4 - overOver/About
The standard, neutral preposition for 'about' used in everyday, casual speech.
Level 1 - Verb-second Rule
The word order rule that requires the verb to follow 'met betrekking tot' when it starts a sentence.
Level 3 - totUntil/To
The final component of the phrase, which usually means 'until' or 'to'.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice met betrekking tot in Bubblegum
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