When you’re in a meeting or writing an email and want to refer to a previous conversation, there are plenty of options in English. But what about when you refer to a specific point, fact, or opinion? Is it correct to say “as discussed”?
You can use the phrase “as discussed” when describing a specific fact or idea that someone mentioned in a previous conversation or correspondence. Usually, we use this phrase to signal we are reminding the reader or listener of an earlier discussion.
Let’s take a look at the meaning and usage of the phrase “as discussed,” and you’ll be using it correctly in no time!
What Does “As Discussed” Mean?
We use the phrase “as discussed” to refer to something we’ve talked about in the past.
Let’s take a look at each word in the phrase individually, and we’ll dissect the grammar to get a better understanding of the phrase “as discussed.”
The word “as” in this phrase is a subordinating conjunction, which means that it connects two different ideas. In this case, the connection explains “how” or “in what way/manner” something happened, is happening, or will happen (source).
The word “discussed” in this phrase describes something that has been talked about beforehand. The verb “to discuss” means “to talk about” or “to have a conversation about” (source).
So, when we use the past tense to describe that something was “discussed,” it means we have talked about or had a conversation about this topic in the past. Usually, the reader or listener is the person with whom we’ve already talked about the given topic.
For example, if you say, “We’ll complete the plan as discussed,” your reader or listener can understand that:
- You’ve talked together about this plan in the past.
- You came to an understanding about the way or manner to complete the plan.
- The plan will continue according to the understanding you reached together.
So, if “as” is a subordinating conjunction followed by the past tense verb “discussed,” then we are missing the clause subject since a clause requires both a subject and a verb.
“As discussed” is equivalent in meaning to “as we discussed.” As with many common expressions, the subject “we” is dropped and assumed by context, which leaves an adverbial idiomatic phrase: “as discussed.”
The adverbial nature of this phrase makes it possible to place it in several sentence positions to communicate that someone previously arranged or talked about something.
Now that we have an idea about the definition and general grammar of “as discussed,” let’s check out how to use the phrase in different contexts.
How Do You Use “As Discussed”?
You can use “as discussed” when you want to explain the ideas from a previous conversation or correspondence. For example, maybe you want to remind your boss that she agreed to approve your new project, but she hasn’t approved it yet.
You can send her a polite and professional email that includes the sentence, “As discussed, the approval for the project should be complete by the end of the week.” This reminds her you’ve both talked about and agreed on the deadline; it’s a polite way to help her recall the duty that she agreed to.
When Can You Use “As Discussed”?
You can use “as discussed” in written or spoken communication; it’s formal and polite, so it’s appropriate to use “as discussed” in an academic or professional setting.
When you see the phrase “as discussed” in writing, it usually refers to another paragraph or chapter in the same book or article. For example, you can say, “As discussed in the previous paragraph, biodiversity has many positive effects.”
This sentence uses “as discussed” as a signal that directs the reader to the paragraph before. The phrase “as discussed in the previous paragraph” explains how and where the reader can refer to the idea that you will continue to discuss.
For more information and examples about phrases to describe how or in what way something happened, have a look at our article “Whether it Be: Grammatically Correct Use of this Phrase.”
In What Context Can You Use “As Discussed”?
The most popular contexts for using “as discussed” include formal settings, such as a work email or an academic paper. It is also a popular phrase to see when two or more people negotiate a deal.
It’s not uncommon to see the phrase “as discussed” in a formal report, a budget proposal, or a contract negotiation. All of these formal settings are appropriate contexts in which to use “as discussed.”
Informally, however, “as discussed” tends to carry a connotation of seriousness. If you attempt to “cut to the chase” or get through pleasantries quickly, “as discussed” will do it. It is a relatively “get-down-to-business” phrase.
Is It Grammatically Correct to Say “As Discussed”?
In short, it is grammatically correct to say “as discussed.” When you use this phrase with “as” to mean “in a certain way or manner” and “discussed” to signal that you and the reader/listener have talked about the topic at hand, you are explaining that an action will happen according to the details of a previous conversation.
Using “As Discussed” in a Full Sentence
When you use “as discussed” in a full sentence, there are a few different places where you can insert the phrase.
For instance, you can use “as discussed” at the beginning of a sentence to immediately show your reader or listener you’re referring to a conversation that happened in the past. Check out this example from a cookbook:
- As discussed in the previous pages, there are different ways to prepare lentils.
Here, the phrase “as discussed” signals to the reader that they can find information about preparing lentils in the past few pages of the book. It also lets them know how or in what way the author explains the different ways to prepare lentils.
Another way to use “as discussed” in a full sentence is to insert it in the middle, as you can see here in a formal business report:
- We made the changes to the budget as discussed in our meeting last month.
In this example, “as discussed” explains that they made the changes to the budget according to the information or ideas expressed in the previous meeting. This shows the reader that they based the changes to the budget on an earlier conversation.
You can also use “as discussed” at the end of the sentence, as in this example from a conversation between an employee and his boss:
- We will continue the hiring process for the three candidates as discussed.
In this case, only the boss and the employee know the full context of the hiring process. We know they’ve talked about it before, but we don’t know exactly how their conversation went. However, they both know, and the speaker sums up that knowledge in the phrase “as discussed.”
When Not to Use “As Discussed”
Since “as discussed” is a bit formal, the phrase might seem out of place in an informal conversation or message. In fact, in an informal setting, using “as discussed” could even seem presumptuous or rude to some listeners or readers.
Notice how formal, rigid, and business-like the following sentence seems compared to the next one:
- You bring the birthday cake and decorations as discussed.
- Can you still bring the birthday cake and decorations?
- Please bring the birthday cake and decorations.
- I need you to bring the birthday cake and decorations.
The sentence with “as discussed” is easily the most rigid and unfriendly sentence.
Thus, it’s best to use “as discussed” in more formal contexts, such as academic or professional settings.
What Can You Use Instead of “As Discussed”?
There are a lot of different phrases that use the as-plus-past-tense-verb construction in the English language. All of these phrases have the same grammatical structure and placement as “as discussed,” but the different past verbs change the meaning of the phrase.
Just like the phrase “as discussed,” you can use all of the phrases below at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a sentence. Let’s check out these examples.
As Expected
You can use the phrase “as expected” to show that something happened according to how you anticipated it. For instance, if you studied very hard for an exam and you get an outstanding grade, you probably won’t be surprised.
In that case, you can say, “As expected, I did really well on that exam!”
As Predicted
The phrase “as predicted” also explains a situation where things happened in line with your expectations. For example, if you notice the sky is heavy with very dark clouds, you’re not surprised when it starts to rain later in the day.
You can say, “The weather is really rainy this afternoon, as predicted.”
As Promised
When you make a promise to someone — or if someone makes a promise to you — there is an expectation for something to happen. In this case, you can use “as promised” to show that an action or occurrence fulfills a promise.
For example, you can say “As promised, I bought gifts for all of my siblings while I was traveling.” Here, “as promised” shows the listener that the expectation for gifts existed before you bought them.
As + Complete Clause
You can also use the conjunction “as” followed by a complete clause to show how or in what way something happened. For example, you can say, “I prepared the recipe as my grandmother taught me.” This shows how you prepared the meal — according to your grandmother’s teaching.
This construction is an adverbial clause headed by a subordinating conjunction. This complete clause may stand at the beginning of the sentence followed by a comma or after the independent clause without a comma.
Active Voice vs. Passive Voice
In addition to the twelve verb tenses, there are two voices in the English language. These voices are the active voice and the passive voice. When you conjugate a verb in English, you have to find the right number (singular or plural), tense, and voice (active or passive).
A sentence in the active voice has the subject of the sentence doing the action expressed by the verb (source). For instance, the sentence “The boy kicked the ball” is active because the subject (“the boy”) is the one who performed the verb (“kicked”).
However, if you say, “The ball was kicked,” this is a passive sentence because the subject (“the ball”) is not the one that acted (“kicked”). Instead, the subject of the sentence received the action of the verb.
So, in the active voice, the sentence’s subject is doing, will do, or has done the action described by the verb. On the other hand, in the passive voice, the sentence’s subject is receiving, will receive, or has received the action described by the verb.
Why Do We Use Passive Voice?
We use the passive voice for a few key reasons. The first reason is that sometimes, we don’t know who the actor or performer of the action is. For example, you can say, “The ball was kicked” if you don’t know who kicked the ball.
Another reason we use the passive voice is to shift the emphasis away from the subject and onto the verb or object of the verb. For instance, when you say “The ball was kicked” instead of “The boy kicked the ball,” you show that the kicking of the ball is more important than the boy in context.
Now that we understand the function of the active and passive voices, let’s take a deeper look at how to build a sentence with the passive voice.
Constructing the Passive
When we build passive verbs, we use the correct form of the verb “to be” plus the past participle of the main verb. You can use the passive in every verb tense — you just need to change the tense of the verb “to be.”
So, the basic formula for building a passive verb is “to be + past participle.” This article was written for strategiesforparents.com.
For more about verb tenses and how to choose the correct tense for each sentence or idea, check out our article “Can I Use Present Perfect and Past Perfect in the Same Sentence?”
Final Thoughts
The phrase “as discussed” includes a conjunction and a past tense verb — the conjunction “as” explains how or in what way something happened. The past tense verb “discussed” shows that the information or ideas came from a previous conversation or correspondence. We assume the subject “we” by context.
You can use the idiomatic phrase “as discussed” in academic or professional settings; it is a formal and polite way to remind a reader or listener about an idea someone expressed in a previous conversation, paragraph, or chapter.
Now, can you properly use “as discussed” as discussed?