comprise / comprise of

[Katz]

What is the difference between "comprise" and "comprise of"?
Could someone illustrate it with a few examples, please?

Many thanks ;-)

 

[Delmobile]

I was taught that "comprised of" is incorrect; see the usage note here.


"The street, a two-block mecca for tourists, comprises four art galleries, five restaurants, and several music venues."

[native speaker and writer, not a teacher]

 

[Katz]

Well, that's exactly what I thought, until I saw in one of the dictionaries the version with "of" and now I'm puzzled...

;-)

 

[Delmobile]

I suppose so many people now say "comprised of" instead of "composed of" that it's becoming acceptable. They admitted as much in that usage note. I still plan to hold the "whole comprises the parts" fort until my death, at which point somebody will write an obituary that reads, "Survivors are comprised of her husband, two children..."

Here is another description of the usage battle, much more entertaining than the American Heritage one. I'm pretty sure the bit about Communist countries is meant as a joke.

Expresso Tilt: Great Comprise Debate

 

[udara sankalpa]

Hi there I'm neither a native speaker nor a teacher

Here is what my dictionary say (Longman)

include, consist of, comprise, be composed of, be made up of

Use include to mention only some of the things that something has as its parts • The price includes lunch.

If you want to mention all the parts that something has in it,
use consist of, comprise, be composed of, or be made up of • The Romance family of languages consists of French, Spanish, Italian, and several other languages. • The house comprises two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. • The jury was composed of nine whites, one Hispanic, and two Asian Americans. • an organization made up of 600,000 small business owners!! Do not say that something 'is consisted of' certain things or that it 'consists' them. Say it consists of them.!! Do not say that something 'comprises of' certain things, even though you might hear English speakers say this. Most careful users consider this to be incorrect so you should avoid using it.!! Do not say that something 'is composed by' or 'is composed with' certain things. Say it is composed of them.

Cheers
Udara

 

[BobK]

Well, that's exactly what I thought, until I saw in one of the dictionaries the version with "of" and now I'm puzzled...

;-)

I guess that dictionary has come down on one side of the argument (described in other posts). On one side, a lot of people use 'comprised of' [wash my mouth out with soap and water], and on the other side a lot of people disapprove. ;-)

b

 

[nyggus]

Here is another description of the usage battle, much more entertaining than the American Heritage one. I'm pretty sure the bit about Communist countries is meant as a joke.

Expresso Tilt: Great Comprise Debate

Well... Though I am too young to remember the communism times in Poland too well, but I wouldn't be that sure: this may be true. Communism systems are so illogical that anyone who has not encountered them may have problems with believing them, not to mention understanding.

Nyggus

 

[Tdol]

I guess that dictionary has come down on one side of the argument (described in other posts). On one side, a lot of people use 'comprised of' [wash my mouth out with soap and water], and on the other side a lot of people disapprove. ;-)

b

I take it that you're neutral on this issue, Bob. :-D

 

[BobK]

I take it that you're neutral on this issue, Bob. :-D

Yeah - sitting on the fence as usual ;-)

b

 

[dheknesn]

The following meanings are very clearly defined, are extracted (copied) from the Oxford dictionary, and are also my understanding of the usage of the word:

"comprise
• verb
1 be made up of; consist of.
2 (also be comprised of) make up; constitute.

— USAGE Traditionally, comprise means ‘consist of’ and should not be used to mean ‘constitute or make up (a whole)’. However, a passive use of comprise is becoming part of standard English: this use (as in the country is comprised of twenty states) is more or less synonymous with the traditional active sense (as in the country comprises twenty states).

— ORIGIN from French, ‘comprised’, from comprendre ‘comprehend’."

 

[sarat_106]

The following meanings are very clearly defined, are extracted (copied) from the Oxford dictionary, and are also my understanding of the usage of the word:

"comprise
• verb
1 be made up of; consist of.
2 (also be comprised of) make up; constitute.

— USAGE Traditionally, comprise means ‘consist of’ and should not be used to mean ‘constitute or make up (a whole)’. However, a passive use of comprise is becoming part of standard English: this use (as in the country is comprised of twenty states) is more or less synonymous with the traditional active sense (as in the country comprises twenty states).

— ORIGIN from French, ‘comprised’, from comprendre ‘comprehend’."

Please see the earlier discussion in this forum:

[Grammar] comprise and consist
anupumh