Hi Leonardo,

These differences can be tricky for native English speakers as well, so don't sweat it. "Regard to" is normally phrased as "in regard to" or "with regards to" and means the same as "pertaining to" or "relating to". "In regard to" is the correct way to actually phrase it but you will likely hear a few different versions. "Regarding" means exactly the same thing as "in regard to" and is just a simpler way to say it. You generally use this phrase when there are several items or topics being discussed and you want to identify the one you are about to refer to. E.g. Someone may say "the topics we will discuss in this meeting will be the food, drinks, and entertainment we want to have at next week's celebration." You could then respond "In regard to/regarding the entertainment, my cousin has a band and would be happy to perform."

"Regardless"  means despite certain things, the opposite of what those things imply is what is true. E.g. "Regardless of his heavy coat, he still felt cold." It's similar to "despite" or "even though."

"Regards" or "Best regards" is used quite differently in the modern English language and is more of a polite goodbye you could put at the end of a letter or e-mail in place of something like "cheers" or "best wishes". E.g.

Hi Ben,

Thank you for your work yesterday.

Regards, Chris

Finally, "regard" on its own can be used to describe how you feel about someone or something. I.e. if you think someone is a bad person, you could say "I don't hold him in very high regard" - meaning that you don't think much of him.

Hope this helps!

Regards, Josh

Hi there,  Josh did a great job of explaining.  I would just add that I would encourage you to try to integrate one or two of the "regard" words into your understanding/usage for now and really get to know how to use those ones correctly.  It will help with the frustration. Don't do it all at once.  I would suggest using the highest frequency ones.

You might start with "regardless".  Just get to know how to use "regardless".  You can google sentences with the word regardless in them. And just practice using it.  When you know that one well, add another one.

Here are some examples from this website http://www.manythings.org/sentences/words/regardless/1.html

Regardless of how much I agree with everything that Josh L. said, I have to make some additional comments here.  Regarding your comment of how you will save his explanation for study - I think that is a great idea!  In regard to his example of holding someone in high regard, I have to agree with his interpretation.  I hope this was helpful. :)

Regards,

V

:)