With regard/In regards to

I have a question about the use of the word 'regard'. I was always taught that its proper usage was as follows:

With regard to your question, the answer is yes.

But lately I've been seeing a lot of people use it like this:

In regards to your question, the answer is yes.

Can anyone clear this up? Which one is really correct? It always bugs me to see it the second way---but maybe I'm totally wrong.

Thanks a bunch!

 

Either one is correct. It's a personal preference.

 

I always thought it was "in regard to."

 

Yeah, that's right. Using "regard" is technically correct, but "regards" is used quite often in spoken language.

Either way, both phrases are overly formal, and using "regarding" or "concerning" (or something like that) is better IMO.

 

adding the 's' onto 'regard' in that context is bad grammar, period... if the speaker is intended to have poor grammar, go ahead and use it... but in narrative, or if the speaker is erudite, it should be spelled without the 's'...

that said, i'm in agreement, in regard to using the simpler 'regarding'...

 

Okay, thank you very much!