Discourage, prevent etc.

This Kibbitzer is based on an essay by a Japanese postgraduate student of Politics:

Original Revision
... the model of Europe à la carte would discourage member states to secure an agreement on the EU's fundamental sphere such as the principle of a single market. ... the model of Europe à la carte would discourage member states from securing an agreement on the EU's fundamental sphere such as the principle of a single market.

The problem here is that the verb discourage has been given the same pattern of complementation as encourage. However while we encourage someone to do something, we discourage someone from doing something. The same contrast is shown by other pairs of verbs such as persuade/dissuade, allow/ prevent and help/hinder

Without television programmes how do you encourage people to buy television sets? Watt stresses that the findings of the survey should not discourage individuals from adopting healthier lifestyles
Tom could never persuade Susan to accompany him on these Sunday expeditions The experience has not dissuaded the laboratory from trying to negotiate other contracts.
The genome project will allow researchers to identify fatal or debilitating diseases. The airlines will have to change their timetables to prevent aircraft from routinely landing before dawn
Adam Heeler and colleagues have developed glass beads which help waterborne bacteria to degrade oil. Too many teachers disgrace their profession and hinder the rest from doing a good job.

Here is an easy exercise that you might like to try. What was the form of verb shown in brackets at the end of the citation?

  1. The high cost of commercial accommodation dissuades many people ______________ a long holiday in Britain. [take}
  2. Two lifesize latex Frenchmen are helping doctors ______________ how to identify small breaks in the supply of blood to the brain that can lead to strokes. [learn]
  3. Different types of exercise will encourage different muscle fibres _____________. [grow]
  4. The lack of funding should not discourage undergraduates ______________ for a higher degree. [try]
  5. A sharp distinction between soma and germ line makes it possible to prevent acquired characters ______________ transmitted. [be]
  6. Christian preachers attempted, without much success, to persuade their congregations ______________ while inebriated pagans feasted. [fast]
  7. Laparascopy, in which a camera is pushed through a small hole in the abdominal wall, allows a doctor ________________ "by television", with instruments pushed through a second puncture hole. [operate]
  8. There are various financial barriers that hinder unemployed people ______________ up jobs. [take]

Click here to see the answers.

19th April 1999

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 Consultant: Tim Johns