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Tuongvan Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Bargain downn

Dear teachers,

Can I say like these?

The taxi-driver demanded $20 for a ride to Saigon, but I bargained it down to $015

The seller sells this coat for $50 , but I bargain it down to $ 40

Can I bargain the prices down here if they are too high?

Thank you in advance
  

Top answer

Yes, you may, but I would remove the word 'down' since bargaining means lower anyway, and the price you put is clearly lower than the asking price. You need not explicitly state 'down'. Chris

— Cbsteh

  • Yes, you may, but I would remove the word 'down' since bargaining means lower anyway, and the price you put is clearly lower than the asking price.
  • You need not explicitly state 'down'.
  • Chris
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11 Answers
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Yes, you may, but I would remove the word 'down' since bargaining means lower anyway, and the price you put is clearly lower than the asking price. You need not explicitly state 'down'.
Chris
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I partially disagre, Chris. Certainly in a general situation you can say "bargain" without "down" : "Are the prices firm, or can we bargain?" However, "bargain" by itself does not take a direct object. You can bargain, or you can bargain down a price, but you cannot "bargain a price." You can't say, "The taxi-driver demanded $20 for a ride to Saigon, but I bargained it to $15." "Down" as use
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"The taxi-driver demanded $20 for a ride to Saigon, but I bargained it down to $15"
The "it" refers to the taxi fare, right?
So is it right then to say:
"The taxi-driver demanded $20 for a ride to Saigon, but I reduced it down to $15"
or just
"The taxi-driver demanded $20 for a ride to Saigon, but I reduced it to $15"
Chris
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The verb reduce means to cut down, so the idea of 'down' is already included.
I don't think you can reduce the fare by yourself, but you need to negotiate!
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bargained it to $X would be understood, but I prefer it with down.
reduced it down to $X would be understood, but I prefer it without down.

CJ
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I like to cut out the "fat" in my writing, so when I see "bargain it down", I still firmly believe that "down" is redundant and ought to be removed.
Chris
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Hi, Chris
It seems that 'reduce' and 'bargain' are not the same in meaning.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bargain[2]says 'bargain' means to bring to a desired level. If you write 'bargain down' people don't seem to consider 'down' fat of your sentence.
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Again, I would say that in my mind using "bargain" with a direct object does not sound right (although, as CJ says, it would certainly be understood.) I think these sound fine; reduce the price, raise the price, negotiate the price. "Bargain the price" just sounds unnatural to me.

(edited to correct typos)
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The word negotiate would also work in some of these examples.

Also: He wanted $50 dollars, but I talked him down to $35.
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cbstehdown" is redundant
But what if we talk about the seller's part in the bargaining?

Isn't he "bargaining it up"?
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