Previously I wrote about the phrasal verb “talk into”. This means to persuade someone to do something. Today, I would like to write about the phrasal verb with the opposite meaning: “talk out of”. This, of course, means to persuade someone not to do something. For example:
Jane was planning to get a tattoo of a dragon on her back, but her boyfriend talked her out of it.
Jane was talked out of getting a tattoo of a dragon on her back by her boyfriend. (passive voice)
My parents talked my brother out of moving to New York.
My brother was talked out of moving to New York by my parents. (passive voice)
A: My father wants to make the whole family go camping together this weekend, but nobody likes camping except him.
B: Maybe your mom can talk him out of it.
I tried to talk my friend out of buying that car, but he wouldn’t listen to me. Now he really regrets buying it.
So, in the last example, when we say we “tried to” talk someone out of something, it means that we failed and the person did the action despite our advice. I hope this is clear to everyone.
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