Which form do you prefer? “He graduated high school in 2002.” or “He graduated from high school in 2002.” The former really grates on my ear, but I have been hearing it more and more lately.
Technically, your school graduates you; you graduate from your school. I’m a former Yankee, now an assimilated Southerner of more than 30 years, but hearing people say they “graduated high school” still irks me as much as does another common Southernism: using “license” as a plural. (ex. “My licence were suspended, but I got 'em back”)
Yes, the “correct” form is an institution graduated you. That said, I use both forms in the OP interchangeably, and my usage is probably leaning towards the “from”-less variation these days.
“He graduated high school” really bugs me and just sounds wrong. But actually it’s the high school that graduates you–here and in Soviet Russia as well.
It depends on context: if you are drawing tick marks on the school at regular intervals, with the intention of later using the school as a measuring device, then you are graduating it. If pass all the required courses, and the school gives you a certificate memorializing your success, then you are graduating from it.
Do you mean here in Australia the term “graduated” can only apply to leaving university? Because I had a high school “graduation” and everyone around me said it without blinking an eye. I’ve always heard the word used for both high school and university.
If that’s not what you meant, disregard this response!
Well, I would have preferred an ‘other’ option, as I wouldn’t really say either. In the UK, if you’re a graduate, it means you graduated from university with a degree, so whilst ‘graduated from’ sounds correct, it is unnecessary unless you specifically wanted to mention which university you graduated from.
You don’t ‘graduate’ from school. You just leave, with or without qualifications.
Another Aussie chiming in. I’m showing my age, but I matriculated from high school and graduated from university. Given that maticulating is not something one does any more I’m not sure what it is called, but it would still sound strange to me to use “graduation” for anything less than a university degree.
It would not surprise me at all if schools now used the word “graduation” however. Nothing wrong with change of course, but it’s not what we used when I left school.
From the above answers I see this is not technically correct, but I would be inclined to say “I graduated high school/college” and “I graduated from John Smith High School/College.”