“Comprise” Done Backwards
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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—And They Got This One Right!
Here’s another quote from the last post’s article about the proof of quantum mechanics:
In 2021, they outlined a way to beef up their single atom-chip interferometer for use with macroscopic objects, such as diamonds comprising a few million atoms.
Yes! NOT “is comprised of.” Comprise goes from the whole thing to its parts, so this usage is correct.
Here’s another picture from the article:
Web Writer Gets It Right, Federal Agency Writer Gets It Wrong
The web writer is whoever wrote this copy of Ancient Origins. Read the caption below the picture:
The writer said “comprising,” which is correct. The whole (the collection) comprises the parts!
Ahem—To justify the title of this post:
I recently took a test at the federal agency where I worked, and the test’s text said that the following section of the test “is comprised of” a set of questions. Wrong! The section comprises a set of questions (or is composed of a set of questions).
“Comprise” goes from the whole to the parts; “compose” goes from the parts to the whole.
Harrumpf.
Comprise and Composed Of
“Comprise” and “compose” are not interchangeable! But “comprise” and “composed of” are. I found these usages in an interesting article about small towns that are good places to visit—https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-15-best-small-towns-to-visit-in-2022-180980129. (I’ve been to two of them).
“Comprise” goes from the whole to its parts:
The massive mural, painted by Navajo artist Chester Kahn and comprising 65 portraits of Navajo individuals, including past politicians and unsung leaders, is one of more than two dozen murals gracing the exteriors of downtown.
“Composed of” also goes from the whole:
Today, Chillicothe’s Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and a couple of nearby properties house the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks—eight archaeological sites of the Hopewell Indigenous people composed of ceremonial earthen wall enclosures, each made up of varying geometric forms and dating back nearly 2,000 years.
Each site has enclosures. They look like mounds in the picture
Do not say “is comprised of”!
Another Nice “Comprise”
“Comprise” means something like “is composed of” and a lot of people, wanting to sound high class, get it wrong. Here’s how to use “comprise”:
By at least 55,000 years ago, the first Australians had navigated open seas in boats to reach the super-continent of Sahul, or Greater Australia (comprising Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania, which were one land mass when sea levels were lower).
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03497-0
The whole thing comprises its parts. Got it?
The sentence is from a book review. The book is Our Oldest Companions: The Story of the First Dogs Pat Shipman Belknap (2021) and here’s a picture from the review:
