question

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Taka

I know that, Casiopea.

OK, let me tell you what I'm wondering. For example, "It is important when..." and "It is important with respect to..." are not really the same, right? But according to the grammatical rule, you can say "It is important in..." instead for both sentences.

If "in" could mean either "with respect to" or "when", how do you tell the difference in a sentence where the distinction is not so clear? Or, is it that for you native speakers there is not much semantical difference between "when" and "with respect to/about", and that's why you use the same "in" for both?

Be careful when (at this time)....
Be careful while (during this event)...

Be careful in (this matter)...
Be careful with respect to (this matter)...
Be careful with regards to (this matter)...

Be careful about (this)....

[Taka]

You're not answering my question, Casiopea.

My question is, when you see "Be careful in -ing", for example, how do you know whether it's "Be careful when S V" or "Be careful with respect to -ing"?

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Taka

You're not answering my question, Casiopea.

My question is, when you see "Be careful in -ing", for example, how do you know whether it's "Be careful when S V" or "Be careful with respect to -ing"?

It's never 'with respect to'. Where did you get that from? It's always 'in (the matter of).' :D

[Taka]

Originally Posted by Casiopea

It's never 'with respect to'. Where did you get that from? It's always 'in (the matter of).' :D

Isn't "with respect to" semantically the same as "in the matter of"?
Even if it's not 100% the same, I thougt it was almost the same. And whether it's 100% the same or not, it's different from "when...", right?

But acoodrding to tdol:

Originally Posted by tdol

You could change 'in' to 'when' there without changing the meaning.

And here comes my question again:

Originally Posted by Taka

When you see "Be careful in -ing", for example, how do you know whether it's "Be careful when S V" or "Be careful with respect to/in the matter of -ing"?

[Taka]

Cas?

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Taka

Isn't "with respect to" semantically the same as "in the matter of"?
Even if it's not 100% the same, I thougt it was almost the same. And whether it's 100% the same or not, it's different from "when...", right?

But acoodrding to tdol:

And here comes my question again:

I agree with tdol's words. :D

Personally, when I come across or hear "Be careful in", I automatically think, "in the matter regarding/with regards to doing something". As for "with respect to doing something", it doesn't sound natural to me. It's the fact that the word 'regard' has more than one meaning,

regard (v.) take into account, heed (French, look at, pay attention to)
regard (n.) point attended to

As nouns, regard and respect share a similar distribution, but their meanings differ,

With regards to..., (In looking at/dealing with)
With respect to...., (In holding X in high esteem)

As verbs, they are also different,

I regard him as a friend. (I see/think of him as a friend)
I respect him as a friend. (I hold him in great esteem as a friend)

In short,

Be careful in crossing the street.
(in the matter regarding)

Be careful with regards to crossing the street.
(in dealing with)

Be careful with respect to crossing the street.
(with esteemed consideration) *It's the esteemed part that's awkward. No one holds crossing the street in great esteem, let alone esteem. It's an action, not someone's point to be attended to. 8) The entire sentence is a point, not 'crossing the street',

With respect to what Taka said about being careful in crossing the street,...

Hope that helps.
It's muggy tonight, ne? :(

[Taka]

Originally Posted by Casiopea

Personally, when I come across or hear "Be careful in", I automatically think, "in the matter regarding/with regards to doing something".

So, you never see "Be careful in -ing" as "Be careful when S do"?

I'm not really interested in the definition of "with regard to" or "with respect to". What I'm curious about is the core meaning of "in doing". According to the dictionaries, it means "with regard to doing", and in other cases "when S do". If so, how do you know if it's "with regard to doing" or ""when S do".

Originally Posted by Casiopea

It's muggy tonight, ne? :(

Yes. But the "tsuyu" season is finally over. :D

[Taka]

Any comments, tdol?

[Tdol]

Context would determine the meaning- if you're about to drive home and the weather is bad, then we can assume that my meaning is restricted to this situation, rather than a general comment on the need to drive safely.

[Taka]

I know the importance of context. But what do you think is the core meaning of "in -ing", tdol? Why do you think it can mean both "with regard to" and "when S do"?