"discuss about" Is Wrong! 5 Verbs English Learners Accidentally Add "about" or "on" To
When you want to say "Let's discuss this plan" in a meeting, many learners instinctively say Let's discuss about the plan. It sounds natural, especially if your native language translates to "discuss about this plan." Unfortunately, this "about" is redundant. The correct phrasing is Let's discuss the plan.
Making these mistakes has nothing to do with your English level; it's simply because your native language naturally inserts a preposition for concepts like "discussing about" or "emphasizing on." In English, there is a group of verbs that naturally "take their own objects." You can place a noun directly after them, and adding "about," "on," or "with" actually makes the sentence incorrect. Today, using a side-by-side comparison of "✗ Chinglish → ✓ Natural Phrasing," let's fix these 5 high-frequency verbs used in business and writing once and for all.
Remember One Concept First: Transitive Verbs Grab Their Objects Directly
English verbs fall into two main categories. Some need a preposition as a bridge to take an object, such as listen to music or look at the photo. However, the 5 verbs we are looking at today belong to another group: they are transitive verbs that take an object directly without needing a bridge.
- Needs a bridge: listen to, wait for, look at
- Takes its own object directly: discuss, emphasize, contact, mention, marry
Tip for checking: If you find yourself wanting to add "about" or "on" after a verb, pause for a second and ask yourself: "Does this verb grab its object on its own?" The five verbs below are the most common culprits for having unnecessary prepositions added to them.
1. discuss: Do not say "discuss about"
This is one of the most common mistakes English learners make during meetings and presentations. Thinking "discuss about something" makes "about" pop up automatically:
Let's discuss about the plan.✗ → Let's discuss the plan. ✓We discussed about the budget yesterday.✗ → We discussed the budget yesterday. ✓Can we discuss about it later?✗ → Can we discuss it later? ✓
How to remember: The verb "discuss" already includes the meaning of "about" within itself. Saying "discuss about" is like saying "about" twice.
What if you want to use a noun to talk about a discussion regarding something? In that case, use the noun discussion, which is followed by "about":
- We had a discussion about the budget. ✓
Quick guide: Do not add "about" after the verb discuss; add "about" after the noun discussion.
2. emphasize: Do not say "emphasize on"
When people want to say "emphasize on safety," that "on" creeps in. But the verb "emphasize" should be followed directly by the thing you are emphasizing:
He emphasized on safety.✗ → He emphasized safety. ✓The teacher emphasized on grammar.✗ → The teacher emphasized grammar. ✓She always emphasizes on teamwork.✗ → She always emphasizes teamwork. ✓
If you really want to use "on," there is a natural way to do it: change the verb to the noun emphasis and use the phrase place emphasis on:
- He placed emphasis on safety. ✓
- The company places great emphasis on quality. ✓
Testing method: When you want to use "on," check if the verb is "emphasize." If it is, either drop the "on" or rewrite the whole phrase to place emphasis on. Pick one path—don't mix them together.
3. contact: Do not say "contact with"
A common mistake when ending an email is writing I will contact with you tomorrow. The phrase "contact with you" causes "with" to sneak in:
I will contact with you tomorrow.✗ → I will contact you tomorrow. ✓Please contact with our support team.✗ → Please contact our support team. ✓How can I contact with the manager?✗ → How can I contact the manager? ✓
The source of confusion is that the noun phrase in contact with actually uses "with":
- Let's stay in contact. ✓
- I'm still in contact with my old classmates. ✓
How to distinguish: The verb "contact" directly connects to the person (contact you); the phrase that uses "with" is the noun phrase in contact with. Seeing "with" directly after the verb "contact" means it's redundant.
4. mention: Do not say "mention about"
"I need to mention this" often gets mistakenly said as mention about this, caused by the same habit of adding "about" after verbs.
We need to mention about this.✗ → We need to mention this. ✓He mentioned about the meeting.✗ → He mentioned the meeting. ✓Did she mention about the price?✗ → Did she mention the price? ✓
When you want to express that "someone mentioned something to someone," use to before the person. The object still follows directly without "about":
- He mentioned the problem to me. ✓
- Did you mention it to your boss? ✓
How to remember: "mention" and "discuss" are in the same family—the verb itself carries the sense of "about," so adding "about" is extra.
5. marry: Do not say "marry with"
This error pops up all the time during casual conversations about relationships or family. Thinking "marry with someone" brings "with" into the sentence:
She married with a doctor.✗ → She married a doctor. ✓He will marry with his girlfriend next year.✗ → He will marry his girlfriend next year. ✓
If you want to emphasize the state of being married to someone, a natural expression is get married to (note the use of "to," not "with"):
- She got married to a doctor. ✓
- They got married last summer. ✓
How to distinguish: Use the verb "marry" directly with the person (marry someone); to express the state, use get married to someone. Neither structure uses "with."
Cheat Sheet
| Meaning | ✗ Incorrect | ✓ Natural Phrasing |
|---|---|---|
| Discuss the plan | discuss about the plan | discuss the plan |
| Emphasize safety | emphasize on safety | emphasize safety / place emphasis on safety |
| Contact you | contact with you | contact you |
| Mention this | mention about this | mention this |
| Marry someone | marry with someone | marry someone / get married to someone |
You don't have to memorize them all at once. Pick the one you use most often and practice that first—like "discuss" in meetings. Consciously drop "about" when using it this week, and once it becomes a habit, move on to the next one.
How to Practice on Loopy
Simply memorizing rules makes it easy to accidentally slip prepositions back in the moment you speak. The real way to break the habit is to encounter the correct expressions repeatedly in realistic context so your ears and mouth get used to them first.
- Leveled Courses: Based on your A1–B1 level, verbs like "discuss," "contact," and "mention" are placed into workplace and everyday conversations. You will naturally hear Let's discuss the plan. in context, helping you remember the correct usage with visuals and tone of voice.
- Listening and Shadowing: Shadow native speakers as they say I'll contact you tomorrow. to turn "placing objects directly after verbs" into muscle memory, so you won't throw in an extra "about" next time you speak.
- Memory Curve Review: The system will bring words like "discuss" and "emphasize" back in front of you right when you're about to forget them, reinforcing them time after time until you get them right without thinking.
- Dictionary: Whenever you're unsure about a verb, look it up on the spot to see example sentences and check whether it takes a preposition, resolving your doubts immediately.
Start with "discuss" and take it step by step—you can do it! Take a quick placement test now to find the best starting point for you.