“Comprise” Done Backwards
rogersgeorge on September 28th, 2024
Yes, this is one of my chronic complaints, though usually the error is to say “is comprised of.” This is another way to get “comprise” wrong. From The New Yorker, yet!
The hundred accumulated tales comprise the Decameron, and together contain an era’s worth of comedy and debauchery.
Should be “… hundred tales compose the Decameron.” “Comprise” goes from the whole to its parts, so “the Decameron comprises the hundred accumulated tales” is correct.
Harrumpf.
Oh. Here’s the picture that went with the article:
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