B1
对…来说, 对于 and 关于 — regarding
Three Chinese ways of saying “about” and “for” — whose perspective, what it is directed at, and what it is on the subject of — and where each sits in the sentence.
对…来说 — from where they stand
Whose perspective the statement is made from. It opens the sentence.
对我来说，这不难。
Duì wǒ lái shuō, zhè bù nán.
For me, this isn’t hard.
对学生来说，最重要的是练习。
Duì xuésheng lái shuō, zuì zhòngyào de shì liànxí.
For a student, the most important thing is practice.
The English for is doing a lot of work in those, and it is the for of viewpoint rather than of benefit. 我给你买 is buying something for you; 对我来说 is how it looks from here.
对 on its own — directed at
Without 来说, 对 points an attitude or an effect at something. It goes before the verb, like any other prepositional phrase.
我对中国历史很感兴趣。
Wǒ duì Zhōngguó lìshǐ hěn gǎn xìngqù.
I’m very interested in Chinese history.
抽烟对身体不好。
Chōuyān duì shēntǐ bù hǎo.
Smoking is bad for you.
对于 is the more formal version of this and behaves the same, though it cannot follow the subject as freely — 对于这个问题，我有不同的看法.
关于 — on the subject of
关于 introduces what something is about: a book, a discussion, a question.
关于这件事，我不太清楚。
Guānyú zhè jiàn shì, wǒ bú tài qīngchu.
About this matter, I’m not too sure.
这是一本关于中国历史的书。
Zhè shì yì běn guānyú Zhōngguó lìshǐ de shū.
It’s a book about Chinese history.
Note the second one: 关于 can sit inside a noun phrase with 的, which 对 cannot.
关于我来说，这不难。
对我来说，这不难。
关于 names a topic — on the subject of me — where the sentence wants a point of view. English uses about and for almost interchangeably here and Chinese does not.
The short version
- 对…来说 — from this person’s point of view
- 对 — directed at, or affecting
- 关于 — on the subject of