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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
"Discuss" Transitive vs Intransitive Verb
0 Hi, 02 br
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00 I've noted that lots of people (can't remember whether they include some native English speakers in my office) use "discuss" as an intransitive verb 02 br
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00 e.g. "What about your marketing plan?" "I've discussed with George and he said it's fine..." 02 br
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00 However, when I look up the word "discuss" in Oxford's/Longman's dictionaries, both say that "discuss" is always a transitive verb & it must take an object. 02 br
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00 I'm rather confused about that. Could someone give me a hand here? 02 br
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00 Thanks. 02 br
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00 Cheers, 02 br
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00 Kathy 0-
02 br
00 I've noted that lots of people (can't remember whether they include some native English speakers in my office) use "discuss" as an intransitive verb 02 br
02 br
00 e.g. "What about your marketing plan?" "I've discussed with George and he said it's fine..." 02 br
02 br
00 However, when I look up the word "discuss" in Oxford's/Longman's dictionaries, both say that "discuss" is always a transitive verb & it must take an object. 02 br
02 br
00 I'm rather confused about that. Could someone give me a hand here? 02 br
02 br
00 Thanks. 02 br
02 br
00 Cheers, 02 br
02 br
00 Kathy 0-
Top answer
0 You're right that we 'discuss something'. 0-
- 0 You're right that we 'discuss something'.
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6 Answers
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0 You're right that we 'discuss something'. But we also 'discuss something 01 i 00 with someone 02 i 00 ', just like what your colleagues said. 0-
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0 Not quite. The colleague "discussed with someone". He didn't "discuss 01 b 00 it 02 b 00 with someone". 02 br
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00 It has to be transitive. People can't just discuss. And they can't just discuss with others either. 05 0 02 br
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00 CJ 010id 1
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00 It has to be transitive. People can't just discuss. And they can't just discuss with others either. 05 0 02 br
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00 CJ 010id 1
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01 cite 10 Kathy 12 cite 10 I've noted that lots of people (can't remember whether they include some native English speakers in my office) use "discuss" as an intransitive verb 10 e.g. "What about your marketing plan?" "I've discussed with George and he said it's fine..." 12 br
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10 However, when I look up the word "discuss" in
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0 Hi paco, CJ & Jay, 02 br
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00 Thanks a lot for your advice. I've learnt a lot, indeed. 02 br
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00 Cheers, 02 br
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00 Kathy 0-
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00 Thanks a lot for your advice. I've learnt a lot, indeed. 02 br
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00 Cheers, 02 br
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00 Kathy 0-
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No dictionaries say "discuss" is only a transitive verb? Well, mine does. You discuss something with someone. You don't discuss with colleagues. You at least discuss that with colleagues. In speech, people might be using it that way, but it is grammatically incorrect so shouldn't be used that way in formal writing
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