# FR: discuter (de) qqch - préposition ?



## jemappellekelly

Salut!

Est-ce que de est facultatif? Ou est-ce qu'il y a des situations qui demandent de et des autres qui ne le demandent pas? Des exemples?

Merci d'avance!


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## Gil

> Discuter un point litigieux, une question, une opinion. Discuter un projet de loi.





> Discuter d'un point, sur un point avec qqn. Discuter de politique. Discuter politique. Discuter sur des détails.


Source Le Petit Robert


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## jemappellekelly

Oui. Merci. J'ai la nouvelle édition... mais je ne comprends/vois pas vraiment la différence.

Est-ce que quelqu'un peut m'expliquer la différence?


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## sonsinimitables

OK, English is my first language but I'm sure of this:  "De" is a preposition...there are some situations that require "de" and others that require other prepositions.  

The examples that the previous poster gave should help give some examples for "discuter."  Does this help?

I think prepositions are just learned through practice...there's not necessarily a "rule"


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## Bakst

Discuter un point litigieux, c'est l'examiner en pesant le pour et le contre, en faisant intervenir son sens critique.
Discuter d'un point, c'est dialoguer avec un ou des interlocuteurs à propos d'un sujet quelconque dans le cadre d'une conversation.


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## geostan

discuter means to argue, discuter de means to discuss


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## Niala

La réponse est la suivante :

Transitif (sans le de) : Examiner avec soin une question en échangeant des idées avec quelqu'un. Ex. : Elle adore discuter cette question.

Transitif indirect (avec le de) : Ex. : Discuter de la pluie et du beau temps.

Source : Marie-Éva de Villers, Multidictionnaire de la langue française, Québec/Amérique, 1992.


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## jlan

geostan said:


> discuter means to argue, discuter de means to discuss



As in the Wordref definition, (http://www.wordreference.com/fren/discuter) _discuter_ means _to argue_ only in its intransitive form (without object), just like in Spanish. In its transitive for, both _discuter_ and _discuter de_ mean _to discuss_, but, _discuter_ more in the sense of _to debate_, whereas _discuter de_ is simply _to talk about_.


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## FreddieFirebird

Is there any difference if you use "discuter de" with people?

Ma mère et moi discutons *de* ma tante folle.  (?)


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## joelooc

"discuter de" est suivi du sujet d'une conversation: on a discuté de la pluie et du beau temps"
"discuter qqch" c'est avoir un débat dont l'enjeu est le moteur de la discussion: "on a discuté le montant du loyer"
Therefore, FreddieFirebird, you cannot "discuss someone"


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## FreddieFirebird

Thanks for the response, but to be honest, I don't understand the conclusion.

If you can "discuss the weather" why can't you discuss a person?  If you are gossiping about them, so to speak, you are discussing them.
I realize these thoughts are relevant to what works in English, and therefore might not work the same way in French.
What verb would work then, if 2 people are having a conversation about another person?  Parler de?


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## tartopom

I agree with joelooc, you can't _discuter une personne_. That doesn't work. _Nous discutons ma tante folle_ isn't French. You have to say _*de* ma tante folle._


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## FreddieFirebird

I did use "discuter *de*" in my original sentence, about "talking about my aunt".  I guess that's where my confusion came in.


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## joelooc

You can imagine someone saying "on a discuté Jacques Dupont pour le poste de PDG" but that would be an ellipsis for "on a discuté _la candidature de _Jaques Dupont". "Discuter"(without "de") implies there's something at stake in the discussion.


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## ChirpingBird

Hey jemappellekelly,

Joelooc is right.

Discuter de : talk about
Discuter quelque chose : to discuss something

Hope it helps,

CB


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## mischa

I am still unclear on the difference here! It seems very subtle. 

Which is correct for comparing your habits with someone?  

Discutez vos habitudes financières
Discutez DE vos habitudes financières

Merci par avance!


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## joelooc

something "discutable" would be something "questionable"
Discutez vos habitudes financières= question
Discutez DE vos habitudes financières: talk about


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## Juju333

Just my 2 cents, if it can help a little since it's not clear for you. When I read the question I was pretty sure the first answer would be "You have to say "discuter de"". I had forgotten there were such things as "discuter un projet de loi", "discuter une question" etc. It is pretty formal to me and I would expect to hear those in a courtroom or from a politician or something like that. 

I agree with everything that have been said but in casual conversations, even to say "discuss something" I think a lot of people use "discuter de" most of the time. At least, in my experience (such as "Il faut qu'on discute de la mise en vente de notre appartement", "Il faut qu'on discute de ce problème" (whereas "Il faut qu'on discute ce problème" would sound a little bit formal) etc.

Again, just my 2 cents!


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## mischa

Thank you!  This does help a lot.  My inclination is always to use 'discuter DE qqch' as the default when you are just talking about something (rather informally), and your explanation reinforces that.


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