Discuss or discuss about: Which is correct?

In standard English, the verb discuss connects straight to the topic being considered. You say discuss the topic, never discuss about the topic. A topic is simply the matter, object, or situation people are examining together. Using discuss means you are sharing thoughts or reviewing facts about that subject. The verb does not mean arguing, fighting, or forcing an agreement. Because the concept of addressing a subject is built into discuss, adding about creates an unnecessary repetition that sounds unnatural in standard speech.

When you want to mention a conversation topic, you have two reliable patterns. You can use discuss followed directly by the noun or pronoun, or you can use talk followed by the preposition about. For example, you say discuss the cost or talk about the cost. Both expressions are common and natural. Notice what happens with pronouns: you say discuss it, but talk about it. If you catch yourself writing discuss about the cost, you can edit it by either deleting about or changing discuss to talk. Make sure you keep the original tense when you make that edit.

You can practise this again in On Friday or in Friday: which is correct? and Please contact me or myself: Which is correct?.

When you want to name the person you are speaking with, add a prepositional phrase with with. The pattern is discuss something with someone. For instance, you can say, 'I will discuss the furniture with my landlord.' Do not confuse the person with the topic. The topic still follows discuss immediately, while the person follows with. In contrast, talk allows you to say talk to someone about the cost or talk with someone about the cost. Keeping these two positions distinct ensures that your sentences stay clear.

The topic following discuss does not have to be a simple noun. You can also use an action ending in -ing, such as buying a sofa or painting the hallway. Never use an infinitive with to after discuss; say discuss buying, not discuss to buy. Furthermore, you can use a short question clause introduced by words like what, whether, or how. Keep statement word order inside the clause: say discuss what we need, never discuss what do we need. Notice how questions and negatives preserve this same pattern: 'Can we discuss it?' and 'We didn't discuss it.' The modal can and auxiliary did require the base verb form discuss without any added prepositions. You can explore related time markers in /grammar/future-plans/.

Learners often produce discuss about because they confuse the verb discuss with the related noun discussion. Unlike the verb, the noun discussion regularly takes the preposition about. It is completely natural and correct to say, 'We had a discussion about the sofa.' You might also hear a discussion of a topic in formal writing, but discussion about is the common standard pattern in everyday English. To avoid mistakes, check whether your word is an action verb or a noun following an article or adjective.

Choosing between discuss and talk about often comes down to tone and context. Discuss often implies a focused conversation with a specific goal, such as making a decision or reviewing shared finances. In contrast, talk about sounds casual, relaxed, and open-ended. However, both verbs appear routinely in everyday conversations between friends or housemates. Neither word is rude or excessively formal. Look at this original dialogue between two flatmates who want to buy second-hand furniture: Sam says, 'Can we discuss the sofa price before we contact the seller?' Alex replies, 'Sure, and let us talk about where we can put it.' Both speakers sound completely natural.

When listening to native speakers, pay close attention to stress and sound linking. The verb discuss has stress on the second syllable: dis-CUSS, /dɪˈskʌs/. It ends with a clear /s/ sound, not a /z/. In the past tense, discussed ends in the sound combination /st/, which can briefly resemble the noun disgust if you do not listen to the surrounding context. In fast speech, discuss links smoothly to following vowel sounds. In the phrase discuss it, the final /s/ carries straight into the vowel: /dɪˈskʌs ɪt/. In contrast, the word about in talk about starts with a weak schwa vowel /əˈbaʊt/. Learning to hear that faint initial vowel will help you tell talk about apart from discuss. For more connected speech drills, check /micro-listenings/1-2/.

Consolidating your knowledge requires active recall. You can fix errors in two ways: by taking away the extra preposition after discuss, or by substituting talk while keeping about. For example, 'We must discuss about the kitchen' becomes either 'We must discuss the kitchen' or 'We must talk about the kitchen.' Now try to recall the patterns without looking at the explanations. Think of a real domestic decision from your own life, such as groceries or utility bills, and create one sentence with discuss and one sentence with talk about. Checking your sentences against these two rules will make the correct structure second nature.