10 exercises — how "when it comes to" narrows a sentence to one specific topic, why it must be followed by a noun phrase or gerund (never a full clause), and how it compares to regarding, concerning, and as for.
Quick reference
When it comes to + [noun phrase / gerund]: narrows the sentence to one specific topic
Never followed by a bare infinitive or a finite clause ('when it comes to we deploy' is wrong)
Register: neutral-to-conversational; use "regarding" or "with regard to" for stricter formal/legal writing
Synonyms: regarding, concerning, as for, in terms of
Common use: point-by-point trade-off comparisons, ADRs, retrospectives
0 / 10 completed
1 / 10
A design doc introduces a new topic: "___ database choice, we favor consistency over availability for this service." Which phrase correctly narrows the topic before the main clause?
When it comes to is a fixed topic-introducing phrase meaning "regarding" or "in the matter of" — it signals that everything that follows the main clause is being framed specifically about the noun phrase or gerund that follows it. "When it comes to database choice, we favor consistency..." "As soon as" is a temporal conjunction (wrong meaning). "Now and then" means "occasionally" (frequency, unrelated). "Even so" is a concession/contrast connector, not a topic marker. Grammar note: "when it comes to" is always followed by a noun phrase or a gerund (-ing form), never a bare infinitive or a full clause with a finite verb — see the next questions for common errors.
2 / 10
Which sentence uses "when it comes to" grammatically?
"When it comes to deploying on Fridays, the team is cautious." The phrase "when it comes to" is grammatically a preposition-like unit ending in "to," so whatever follows must be a noun phrase or a gerund (verb+-ing), never a finite clause ("we deploy") or a bare infinitive ("deploy"). This is the exact same pattern as other prepositions followed by verbs: "committed to improving," "used to seeing," "look forward to hearing." Option A keeps a full clause after "to" (wrong). Option C uses the bare infinitive (wrong). Option D wrongly substitutes "that" for "to," breaking the fixed phrase entirely.
3 / 10
A tech lead compares two libraries in a Slack thread: "___ raw performance, Library A wins. ___ developer ergonomics, though, Library B is far ahead." Which pair correctly signals two separate topics being evaluated in turn?
Repeating "When it comes to" before each criterion is a natural and common pattern for structuring a point-by-point comparison — it clearly signals "on this specific dimension..." for each item being evaluated, common in trade-off write-ups, architecture decision records (ADRs), and vendor comparisons. "As long as" (a conditional) does not fit — there is no condition here, just topics. "Given that" (reason) and "provided that" (condition) both introduce clauses, not topics, and neither matches the comparative framing. "So that" (purpose) and "such that" (result) are unrelated structures entirely.
4 / 10
Which sentence correctly places "when it comes to" at the END of a sentence, as an informal fronting alternative sometimes seen in spoken tech talks?
"This team is not very disciplined when it comes to testing edge cases." — "when it comes to" always needs its noun phrase or gerund object attached directly after "to"; it cannot be stranded at the end of a sentence without its object like a preposition in informal speech ("who did you go with?"). Options A and D try to leave "when it comes to" dangling without its topic, which is ungrammatical for this fixed phrase — unlike single prepositions, this multi-word unit does not support stranding. Option B awkwardly repeats the topic with a redundant "it," which native speakers avoid.
5 / 10
Choose the best paraphrase of: "When it comes to on-call rotations, fairness matters more than seniority."
"When it comes to X" is functionally equivalent to "regarding X," "with regard to X," or "as for X" — all topic markers that narrow the scope of the claim that follows to one specific domain, without implying cause or condition. "Because of" wrongly implies causation. "Unless" wrongly introduces a conditional barrier. The correct paraphrase simply restates the topic-narrowing function: "Regarding on-call rotations specifically, fairness matters more than seniority."
6 / 10
Which register note about "when it comes to" is correct?
"When it comes to" sits comfortably in neutral and conversational registers — technical blog posts, design docs, talks, and Slack messages all use it freely — but it feels slightly too casual for strict legal or contractual writing, where "with respect to" or "with regard to" is preferred instead. It is not restricted to negative topics ("When it comes to strengths, the team excels at debugging" is fine). It is not interchangeable with "provided that," which is a conditional connector with an entirely different function — one narrows a topic, the other states a requirement.
7 / 10
Fill the blank in this incident report line: "___ root cause analysis, the team identified a race condition in the retry logic as the primary factor."
Both "When it comes to" and "Concerning" can open this sentence, since both are topic-introducing markers — but they sit at different points on the formality scale. "Concerning root cause analysis, the team identified..." is more clipped and formal, closer to a report register. "When it comes to root cause analysis, the team identified..." is slightly more conversational but still entirely appropriate in an incident report. Neither changes the meaning; the choice is a matter of house style. Other synonyms on this spectrum: regarding (neutral-formal), as for (slightly contrastive), in terms of (neutral, often used for measurable dimensions).
8 / 10
Which sentence misuses "when it comes to" by treating it as if it introduced a reason rather than a topic?
"When it comes to the outage lasted two hours, we owe users an apology" is broken: "the outage lasted two hours" is a full finite clause, not a noun phrase or gerund, so it cannot follow "when it comes to." The intended meaning here is causal ("because the outage lasted two hours..."), which calls for a different connector entirely — "when it comes to" cannot substitute for "because" or "given that." The other three sentences correctly follow "when it comes to" with a noun phrase (caching strategy, onboarding new engineers, naming conventions).
9 / 10
Which sentence best shows "when it comes to" contrasting two groups or scenarios within one sentence?
"When it comes to junior developers, code review takes longer; when it comes to senior developers, it is often just a formality." Repeating the full phrase before each group being contrasted is the correct, clear structure — each clause stands independently with its own topic and comment. Option B trails off incompletely after "however senior developers" with no verb. Option C garbles word order, placing "when it comes to" mid-clause without a matching main clause structure. Option D scrambles the fixed phrase itself ("It comes to... when"), which is not how this expression works — the fixed order is always "when it comes to + topic."
10 / 10
A staff engineer writes in a retrospective: "___ observability, we still have blind spots in the payment service." Which single-word substitute for "when it comes to" is closest in meaning and register?
Regarding is the closest single-word substitute — both are topic markers that narrow the scope of the sentence to one specific area, without adding contrast, cause, or concession. "Whereas" introduces a direct contrast between two clauses (wrong function here, since there is only one topic, not two being compared). "Meanwhile" signals simultaneity in time (unrelated). "Notwithstanding" signals concession, "despite this" (wrong function — no concession is being made). Precision tip: when narrowing to a single topic with no contrast implied, reach for regarding, concerning, with regard to, or when it comes to — not concessive or contrastive connectors.