was not discussion

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "was not discussion" is not correct in standard written English.
It may be intended to convey that there was no discussion, but it lacks proper grammatical structure. Example: "The meeting was unproductive because there was not discussion on the main agenda items."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Although TAs occasionally asked questions of the presenter, the format was not discussion based.

CBE Life Sciences Education

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

"There wasn't discussion about wind that I can recall.

The New York Times

Arguments are not discussions.

WikiHow

National security was not for discussion.

The Guardian - Opinion

"There was not any discussion of resignation," he said.

The New York Times

"There was not a climactic discussion," Mr. Auletta said.

The New York Times

But the return of Crimea was not up for discussion.

The Guardian

But Wolfowitz was not letting the discussion end there.

The New York Times - Magazine

It was not all serious discussion over the weekend.

The Guardian - Opinion

He noted that succession was not actively being discussion within the Commonwealth.

The Guardian

It was not all serious discussions and debate.

Unicef

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Avoid using the phrase "was not discussion". Instead, use grammatically correct alternatives like "there was no discussion" or "the topic was not discussed".

Common error

Do not treat "discussion" as a continuous action that can be directly linked with "was". "Discussion" is a noun; therefore, it requires a more appropriate sentence structure to indicate its absence. Instead of saying "was not discussion", express the absence of discussion correctly, for example, using "there was no discussion".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "was not discussion" is grammatically incorrect and cannot function as a standard phrase in English. The verb "was" requires a predicate nominative (a noun or pronoun) or a predicate adjective to complete its meaning. It appears that some sources, as shown by Ludwig, use this phrase despite its grammatical errors.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

46%

Science

32%

Formal & Business

7%

Less common in

Wiki

5%

Reference

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "was not discussion" is grammatically incorrect, as pointed out by Ludwig AI. It attempts to convey the absence of a discussion but fails to adhere to standard English grammar rules. Although it appears in various sources, including News & Media and Science, as highlighted by Ludwig examples, it should be replaced with grammatically correct alternatives such as "there was no discussion" or "the topic was not discussed", especially in formal writing. Its frequent occurrence despite being incorrect suggests a common misuse, making awareness and correction essential.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

there was no discussion

Rephrases the idea using a more grammatically standard structure.

there wasn't any discussion

Adds emphasis to the lack of discussion.

no discussion took place

Emphasizes that the discussion did not happen at all.

discussion did not occur

Uses a more formal tone and inverts the sentence structure.

discussion never happened

Strongly emphasizes the complete absence of discussion.

a discussion didn't happen

Emphasizes the absence of the discussion event.

there was a lack of discussion

Highlights the deficiency in discussion.

the topic wasn't discussed

Focuses on the topic and its lack of coverage.

the matter wasn't discussed

Similar to 'the topic wasn't discussed' but uses 'matter'.

it wasn't under discussion

Suggests the topic was not considered or reviewed.

FAQs

What is the correct way to say "was not discussion"?

The grammatically correct way to phrase this is to say "there was no discussion". Other options include "the topic was not discussed" or "it was not under discussion".

Is "was not discussion" grammatically correct?

No, "was not discussion" is not grammatically correct. The correct phrasing would typically be "there was no discussion".

What are some alternatives to "was not discussion"?

Alternatives include phrases like "there wasn't any discussion", "discussion did not occur", or "the matter wasn't discussed".

How can I avoid using "was not discussion" in my writing?

Focus on restructuring your sentence to correctly express the absence of a discussion. Use phrases like "no discussion took place" or "there was a lack of discussion" instead.