# "Graduate" or "Graduate From" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996 "2010-09-25T13:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/1 "2010-09-25T13:44:06Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/2 "2010-09-25T14:20:51Z")
“Graduate from”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/3 "2010-09-25T14:28:58Z")
I clicked “Graduated” because it sounded right, but now that you’ve got me thinking, I dunno. it occurs to me that it’s been years since I had to stress about the grammar of high school graduation. I think mostly I just say “Went to college”😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/4 "2010-09-25T15:00:20Z")
Either sounds okay to me. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/5 "2010-09-25T22:49:41Z")
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”) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/6 "2010-09-26T00:27:39Z")
It’s restricted to universities here, but it’s always “he graduated from X uni”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/7 "2010-09-26T01:52:45Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/8 "2010-09-26T02:03:16Z")
“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. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/9 "2010-09-26T02:04:06Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/10 "2010-09-26T02:17:30Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > It’s restricted to universities here, but it’s always “he graduated from X uni”. 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! ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/11 "2010-09-26T22:41:49Z")
> [@multimediac17](#): > > > [@Cunctator](#): > > > > It’s restricted to universities here, but it’s always “he graduated from X uni”. > > 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! I’ve never heard it used except in relation to university graduations. In my experience high school students simply “finish” school. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/12 "2010-09-28T00:57:42Z")
Either one. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/13 "2010-09-28T12:59:26Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/14 "2010-09-28T13:24:19Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > > [@multimediac17](#): > > > > 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! > > I’ve never heard it used except in relation to university graduations. In my experience high school students simply “finish” school. 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. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/15 "2010-09-28T13:35:00Z")
I prefer “graduated from,” but have no problem if others use “graduated.” ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/16 "2010-09-28T14:31:34Z")
I would have said graduated from. One that grates on me is: recommend me a … ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/17 "2010-09-28T16:27:25Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/18 "2010-09-28T16:29:16Z")
Huh. It’s not “He **was graduated from** high school in 2002.”? ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/19 "2010-09-28T18:04:46Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I would have said graduated from. One that grates on me is: recommend me a … Indeed! Every time I see that expression in a SD thread title I pass the thread by without opening it. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996/20 "2010-09-28T18:07:41Z")
For me, it’s a question of whether or not the school is named. “John graduated college in 2010.” “John graduated from Yale in 2010.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduate-or-graduate-from/554996.md?page=2)