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I have planned a meeting, that will be the day after tomorrow.

If now I want to tell someone about the main point of the meeting, what could I choose?

  • During the meeting we are discussing about XYZ
  • During the meeting we are going to discuss about XYZ
  • During the meeting we'll discuss about XYZ
  • During the meeting we discuss about XYZ
  • Something else...

Thank you.

Jasper
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Aslan986
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    2nd and 3rd sound correct, 4rd is correct if the meeting is a general one not any specific meeting. Dont use about with discuss, we discuss a particular issue but we talk about it. – Max Apr 02 '13 at 22:00

3 Answers3

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The meeting will be in the future. Therefore, it is appropriate to use a form that indicates the future. (As pointed out by Barrie England in a note, English has no future tense.) Some possibilities are:

  • During the meeting we will discuss XYZ.

  • During the meeting we'll discuss XYZ.

  • During the meeting we'll be discussing XYZ.

  • During the meeting we are going to discuss XYZ.

"about" isn't necessary with discuss; it would be appropriate with "talk about", but "discuss" is a better choice for this situation.

barbara beeton
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    As FumbleFingers has said on EL&U, English has no future tense: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/110287/improper-expressions-of-the-future-progressive – Barrie England Apr 03 '13 at 06:37
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To discuss something means the same thing as to talk about something, so the word 'about' is not correct to use with 'discuss'. So, to go through your examples (removing 'about'):

  • During the meeting we are discussing XYZ.

Incorrect. The meeting is in the future, and "we are discussing" is present tense. You can't use the two together.

  • During the meeting we are going to discuss XYZ.

Correct. "We are going to" talks about the future, and so is appropriate here.

  • During the meeting we'll discuss XYZ.

Correct. We'll is a contraction of we will, which is also future tense and appropriate here.

  • During the meeting we discuss XYZ.

Incorrect. We discuss [x] refers to a habit in this case. If you have a recurring meeting in which you always discuss the same thing, you could instead say:

  • During the [weekly, daily, etc.] meetings we discuss XYZ.
WendiKidd
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As @WendiKidd says, I wouldn't use 'about' with discuss. Either discuss or talk about.

Other than that, I think all the sentences are correct, but "During the meeting we'll discuss XYZ" sounds the most ordinary.

bdsl
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