Discuss; talk about (not discuss about)

Saturday, September 2, 2023

 


“People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it's simply necessary to love.” 

This is a beautiful quote by the artist, Claude Monet. It’s also a perfect example of the correct use of discuss in English. 

Discuss and talk about are equal in meaning. In conversations with English learners, I often hear “discuss about,” which is a common mistake. 


Discuss = talk about

You can say this: 

  • Ron will discuss the options with his business partner. 
  • Can we discuss this tomorrow?
  • The lawyer couldn’t discuss his case with reporters. 

….or you can say it this way:

  • Ron will talk about the options with his business partner. 
  • Can we talk about this tomorrow?
  • The lawyer couldn’t talk about his case with reporters.

You can’t say discuss about

  • Ron will discuss about the options with his business partner.  - wrong
  • Can we discuss about this tomorrow? - wrong
  • The lawyer couldn’t discuss about his case with reporters. - wrong

Discuss about is a common mistake to avoid. 

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