You have probably written it in an email, said it in a meeting, or heard it in a classroom: “We will discuss about the project tomorrow.” It sounds polite, professional, and completely natural to an Urdu or Hindi speaker. The trouble is that a native speaker hears a small crash in the sentence, because “discuss about” is not correct English.

Is “discuss about” correct or wrong?

“Discuss about” is wrong. The verb discuss already means “to talk about”, so adding about is redundant. Say “discuss the project”, never “discuss about the project”. This is not a matter of opinion. BBC Learning English’s verb and preposition quiz marks “discuss about something” as incorrect and tells learners not to use a preposition with discuss at all. Merriam-Webster defines discuss as a transitive verb meaning “to talk about”, which is exactly why the extra word is wrong.

So why do so many of us say it? The answer sits in our first language. Urdu and Hindi do not have prepositions; they have postpositions, little markers such as se, ko, mein and par that sit after a word and carry the meaning of about, from, to, and in. When you think in Urdu and speak in English, your brain reaches for an extra word to finish the meaning. “Baat karna” feels like it needs a “ke baare mein” inside it. But English already packed that meaning into the verb itself.

Here is the rule that fixes ten common mistakes at once: some English verbs are complete on their own. They take a direct object, and putting a preposition between the verb and the object breaks the sentence. Learn which ten verbs below cause the most trouble, and your English will sound noticeably more natural in one sitting.

1. Discuss: drop “about”

Wrong: Let us discuss about the new policy.
Right: Let us discuss the new policy.

This is the most famous one, and it appears in competitive exams again and again. Keep one pair in your head. We talk about the weather. We discuss the weather. Talk needs about. Discuss does not. One small extra note: the noun is different. “We had a discussion about the policy” is perfectly correct, because discussion is a noun and nouns play by different rules.

2. Enter: drop “into” for rooms and buildings

Wrong: He entered into the classroom late.
Right: He entered the classroom late.

When enter means walking through a door, it takes the place directly. The one exception matters for office English. “Enter into” is correct in formal writing when you mean signing or starting something legal: “The two companies entered into an agreement.” So the memory hook is this. Enter the room. Enter into a deal.

3. Revert: drop “back”

Wrong: I will revert back to you soon.
Right: I will get back to you soon.

This one deserves care, because it has two layers. First, “revert back” doubles the back. Collins Dictionary’s usage note on revert states that since back is part of the meaning of revert, one should not say that someone “reverts back” to a type of behaviour. Re already means back, so revert back is “back back”.

Second, in Indian and Pakistani office English, “revert” is routinely used to mean “reply”. That usage is understood locally but is not the dictionary meaning. Cambridge Dictionary defines “revert to something” as going back to a previous condition. If you want to say you will reply, the safest and most universally understood sentence is “I will get back to you soon.” Nobody in any English speaking country will misunderstand that.

4. Emphasise: drop “on”

Wrong: She emphasised on the importance of practice.
Right: She emphasised the importance of practice.

Emphasise is a transitive verb, which means it connects directly to its object. Cambridge Dictionary lists it as “emphasise something”, with no preposition in between. The confusion comes from “focus on”, which does need a preposition. Keep them apart with a hook. You focus on the point, but you emphasise the point. The same goes for its cousin stress: you stress the point, never “stress on the point”.

5. Comprise: drop “of”

Wrong: The course comprises of ten modules.
Right: The course comprises ten modules.

Comprise means “consist of”, so the of is already hidden inside the verb. Writing “comprises of” is like writing “consists of of”. If you want to use of, switch to a different construction: “The course is composed of ten modules” or “The course consists of ten modules”. Both are correct, because composed and consist pair with of while comprise does not.

6. Resemble: drop “with” or “to”

Wrong: She resembles with her mother.
Right: She resembles her mother.

Resemble is a transitive verb, so it takes its object directly. The Urdu thought behind the mistake is usually “miltay jultay hain”, which feels like it needs a with. In English it does not. The hook: you look like your mother, but you resemble your mother. Like needs its partner; resemble needs nothing.

7. Approach: drop “to”

Wrong: They approached to the manager for help.
Right: They approached the manager for help.

When approach means coming nearer to someone or something, it is a transitive verb and takes the object directly. The mistake often comes from mixing it up with “go to”. You go to the manager, but you approach the manager. One moves toward, the other arrives. In a job interview or an application email, “I approached the team for guidance” reads as confident; “I approached to the team” reads as a learner.

8. Lack: drop “of” when it is a verb

Wrong: He lacks of confidence.
Right: He lacks confidence.

This is a trap because the noun version is correct with of. “A lack of confidence” is perfectly good English. The verb version is not. As a verb, lack grabs its object directly: “She lacks experience”, “The plan lacks detail”. The hook: verb lack, no of; noun lack, needs of.

9. Reach: drop “at” or “to”

Wrong: We reached at the station on time.
Right: We reached the station on time.

This is one of the most tested errors in South Asian English exams, and one of the most heard in daily life. Reach connects directly to the destination. The confusion comes from arrive, which does need a preposition: “We arrived at the station on time.” Keep the pair straight. You arrive at the station, but you reach the station. A related fix: “I went to home” is wrong when home means the place, because home acts like an adverb there. Say “I went home”.

10. Attend: drop “to” for meetings

Wrong: She attended to the meeting yesterday.
Right: She attended the meeting yesterday.

When attend means being present somewhere, it takes the object directly. But “attend to” is a real phrase with a completely different meaning: to deal with or take care of something. “The nurse attended to the patient” means she cared for the patient, not that she sat in a meeting with the patient. So “attended to the meeting” does not mean you were late to it; it accidentally says you looked after it. The hook: attend the meeting, attend to the problem.

The quick recap

Verb	Wrong	Right
discuss	discuss about the plan	discuss the plan
enter	enter into the room	enter the room
revert	revert back	get back / revert
emphasise	emphasise on the point	emphasise the point
comprise	comprises of ten parts	comprises ten parts
resemble	resembles with her	resembles her
approach	approached to him	approached him
lack	lacks of confidence	lacks confidence
reach	reached at the station	reached the station
attend	attended to the meeting	attended the meeting

Why fixing this matters more than you think

These are not obscure rules. They sit at the exact boundary between learner English and confident English. Competitive exams in India and Pakistan test “discuss about” and “reached at” almost every year. In interviews, the first thirty seconds decide the impression, and these small errors are the first thing a listener notices. In emails, “revert back” and “discuss about” quietly mark you as a non native speaker in a way that perfect vocabulary cannot undo.

The deeper lesson is worth more than any list. English verbs often carry a preposition’s meaning inside them already. Discuss carries about. Revert carries back. Comprise carries of. When you learn a new verb, check a learner dictionary to see whether it takes a direct object, and trust it. The dictionary is not hiding extra words from you. If it says “transitive”, the verb is complete on its own.

Frequently asked questions

Is “discuss about” correct or wrong?

It is wrong. Discuss is a transitive verb meaning “to talk about”, so “discuss the project” is correct and “discuss about the project” is not. BBC Learning English confirms this in its verb and preposition teaching materials.

Can I say “enter into the room”?

No. Use “enter the room”. “Enter into” is only correct in formal writing for agreements and negotiations, as in “enter into a contract”.

Is “revert back” correct in emails?

No. Revert already contains the idea of going back, so “revert back” is redundant. If you mean you will reply, write “I will get back to you”, which is understood everywhere.

Why do Urdu and Hindi speakers add extra prepositions?

Urdu and Hindi use postpositions such as se, ko and mein instead of prepositions. When translating thoughts into English, learners instinctively add about, back, into or on to complete the meaning, even when the English verb already includes it.

Does “comprise of” work in British English?

No. Comprise means “consist of”, so “comprises of” repeats the of. Say “comprises ten members”, or switch to “is composed of ten members” if you want to keep of.

Sources

• BBC Learning English, Quiznet 104: Verb + Preposition (quiz answer key confirming “discuss about something” is incorrect)
• Collins Dictionary, “revert”: usage note on “reverts back”
• Cambridge Dictionary, “revert to something”: to go back to a previous condition
• Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “discuss”: transitive verb, “to talk about”