I was graduated vs I graduated

[SiCantikManis]

Hi,

I heard someone with excellent command of English said “I was graduated from…”. I have the impression this is incorrect so I am a little confused. Can we actually say this?

Many thanks,
Cantik

[Yankee]

Hi Cantik

The passive “I was graduated from” version is old-fashioned. It is not used nearly as often as the active “I graduated from” version. The American Heritage Dictionary provides good usage information and background about the verb “graduate”:

The verb graduate has denoted the action of conferring an academic degree or diploma since at least 1421. Accordingly, the action of receiving a degree should be expressed in the passive, as in She was graduated from Yale in 1998. This use is still current, if old-fashioned, and is acceptable to 78 percent of the Usage Panel. In general usage, however, it has largely yielded to the much more recent active pattern (first attested in 1807): She graduated from Yale in 1998. Eighty-nine percent of the Panel accepts this use. It has the advantage of ascribing the accomplishment to the student, rather than to the institution, which is usually appropriate in discussions of individual students. When the institution’s responsibility is emphasized, however, the older pattern may still be recommended. A sentence such as The university graduated more computer science majors in 1997 than in the entire previous decade stresses the university’s accomplishment, say, of its computer science program. On the other hand, the sentence More computer science majors graduated in 1997 than in the entire previous decade implies that the class of 1997 was in some way a remarkable group. •The Usage Panel feels quite differently about the use of graduate to mean “to receive a degree from,” as in She graduated Yale in 1998. Seventy-seven percent object to this usage.

bartleby.com/61/46/G0214600.html

[SiCantikManis]

Oh, thanks Amy. Now I know it was just my ignorance. :oops:

[Yankee]

Now I know it was just my ignorance.

Not at all, Cantik! You’ve probably always heard/read the version of that sentence that is typical in modern English – and that’s the active version. Your question was a perfectly valid one.
.

[SiCantikManis]

Thanks again, Amy. I am so glad I asked.

[Yasemin_Dursun]

Thanks for the explanation

[Torsten]

You are welcome, Yasemin. Welcome to our forum . I take it you are from Turkey or one of its neighboring countries?

[Yasemin_Dursun]

Thank you I am from Turkey