Comprise & Compose
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The following sentence
appeared in an editorial in the Traverse City Record-Eagle on Sunday, November 23,
2014:
“Safe
Harbor, comprised of 23 area churches that open their doors to the homeless
during the winter months, has said the group can’t continue indefinitely.”
My quibble is with the
wording comprised of. Comprise means
to include or contain; compose means
made up of or formed by. Safe Harbor, included of 23 area churches . . . makes no sense.
The whole comprises the
parts; the whole includes the parts:
·
Safe Harbor
comprises 23 area churches.
America
comprises 50 states.
·
The federal
government comprises three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
·
A full deck
comprises 52 cards.
·
The English
alphabet comprises 26 letters.
Alternatively, the whole is composed of its many parts; the whole is made up of or formed by its many parts:
·
Safe Harbor
is composed of 23 area churches.
·
America is
composed of 50 states.
·
The federal
government is composed of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
·
A full deck
is composed of 52 cards.
·
The English
alphabet is composed of 26 letters.
Finally, the parts
compose the whole; the parts make up or form the whole:
·
23 area
churches compose Safe Harbor.
·
50 states
compose America.
·
Three
branches—executive, legislative, and judicial—compose the federal government.
·
52 cards
compose a full deck.
·
26 letters
compose the English alphabet.
Here is a simple rule
that will cut through confusion:
Never, ever, write or say comprised of.
Listen to Mike’s program in real
time every Tuesday morning, 9:10 - 10:00 a.m. EST, by going to wtcmradio.com
and clicking on Listen Now. You’ll
also find about a month’s worth of podcasts there under The Ron Jolly Show.
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