(Passive) Is Comprised Of, Is Composed of. ‘The avocado salad was comprised of iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion and a whole sliced avocado.’ ‘Direct purchases by state and local governments now comprise nearly 10 percent of GDP.’ ‘Investors are out in force and Chambers estimates they comprise approximately 65 per cent of buyers.’ As you can guess, I was focused on people testing their understanding, not on writing crisp sentences. comprise - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. Synonym for composed of The prepositions ("of" and "by") change the meaning. The similar-sounding word compose means "make up" as in Many ethnic groups compose our nation. Comprised vs Composed. BusinessWritingBlog has been helping you become a business writing expert since 2005. To avoid a long and confusing explanation – you have two choices: comprises or comprised of. The word comprise means "contain" or "consist of." Of is even used all by itself to mean composed of: "a ring of silver and gold". Their slippery meanings and similar sounds have likely contributed to the rise of comprised of. The most cautious route … How to Link Your Company to Your Customers. It states “the whole comprises all the parts.”. All Free. The argument against this phrase is rooted in the definitions outlined above. ... Comprised of is an expression in English: X "is comprised of" Y means that X is composed or made up of Y. While writing patents, my patent lawyer said that while “composed of” and “comprises” are both grammatically correct, they mean different things legally. The legal definitions of comprising, composed of, and consisting of are laid out in the Manual of Patent Examining Practice and Procedure. Following the guidelines above, It would be incorrect to say that the wine team is composed of devoted wine lovers because the sentence goes from the “whole” (the wine team) to the “individual parts” (the members). How to use comprised of in a sentence. On the other hand, comprises goes from the “whole” to the “individual parts”. In other words, the hotel has or contains 150 rooms for guests. : : However, the passive voice of … Thank you for this reference. Our Error Quests booklet contains 50 short paragraphs, each with just one error. Our wine team is consisted of devoted wine lovers. Your simple present tense example is correct: “The team comprises highly educated people.”. Personally, I always use comprise, comprises or comprised in preference to: “comprised of”, or; “composed of”. Hello Lynn, I believe this rule would also apply in the following example: (Active) Hawaii is composed of eight main islands. I particularly agree with MaryHazel. Yes, "composed of" is the correct form. We venture again into ambiguous territory, this time to take a look at the words ‘comprise’ and ‘compose’. Interesting idea! ‘Comprise’ is a term so commonly misused that even dedicated pedants have pretty much given up on correcting people these days. That variety helps me choose the right language in different situations. It’s similar to the examples I shared above: –Our wine team comprises devoted wine lovers. Language rules change. If you like the look and sound of comprise, you can still use it correctly. We use it as shown in the following example sentences: His country comprises fifty states and one district. I looked up some dictionaries, and they say that “comprise” and “be comprised of” can be used in the same way. The panel comprises experts from four industries. comprised of vs composed of : Common Errors in English. Dig Deeper on Writing for Business. Word Choice: Comprise vs. Compose. Why? For example: I do not own a style manual that agrees with your argument. Perhaps you will write in English more effectively than native English speakers. Add Comment. We almost always use composed of, and not composed from: We refer to something's makeup (composed, made up) with the preposition of, which has a standard meaning that includes composition. But what of when the word ‘comprise’ is used in simple present tense and it is rather followed by an adjective instead of a noun, say, “the team comprises highly educated people”? As per Oxford English Dictionary – Third Edition: USAGE . Could I understand from this that “Our wine team comprises devoted wine lovers.” can be also written as “Our wine team is comprised of devoted wine lovers.”? The Pros And Cons Of Standard Vs Itemized Tax Deductions Taxes We know that “comprised of” is always incorrect so…. Which one is correct? Does the rule still apply without inclusion of the preposition ‘of’? I am composed of/ comprised of 60% water. To be comprised or contained (in). The confusion around the two words even gave rise to the term comprised of which can be considered illogical given the definitions aforementioned above. What is the correct way to use negatives in a sentence. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I am a little confused, and would appreciate your advice. In most cases I would not use either “is composed of” or “comprises” in those sentences. Here are more examples of comprise used correctly: Correct: Wisconsin comprises 72 counties. Knowing when to use comprise vs. compose can be confusing. Remember, even though you see "comprised of" often (even in The New York Times) … English. comprise OR be comprised of?. Know about the usage of Comprised of and Composed of in this video. consists of; be made up of: “… the country comprises twenty states.”, Made up or constitute [a whole]: “… this single breed comprises 50 per cent of the Swiss cattle population.”, [be comprised of] “…documents are comprised of words.”. Hello. The sentence “Our wine team is COMPRISED OF devoted wine lovers who are some of the most respected professionals in the industry” cannot be simply switch to: Our wine team is COMPOSED OF devoted wine lovers who are some of the most respected professionals in the industry” because the sentences goes from the “whole” (the wine team) to the “parts” (the members). Ten small boys and a dog comprised the street entertainer’s audience. Definition of composed of in the Idioms Dictionary. Thank you for your article – At this rate, it won’t be long before even pedants give up on the difference between “comprise” and “compose.” After all, “comprise” is frequently misused, particularly by people writing “comprised of” when they mean “composed of.”. By: Jessica Lulka. comprise > verb [with obj.] You have entered an incorrect email address! © Copyright 2005 - Present | Critic Capital LLC | All Rights Reserved, Don’t Make Us Slog Through Long Sentences, Winning Intro Sentences for Resume Cover Letters, http://www.syntaxtraining.com/products/heart/. - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary Content vs Comprises-vs-iscomposedof-whats-difference-0. Comprise vs. Compose. If we replace comprise in the original sentence with those definitions, we get: Our wine team is made up of devoted wine lovers. Define comprised. Paragraphs by diverse authors compose/comprise a single Wikipedia page. And that is precisely why it IS correct to say that the team is composed of wine lovers and the musical composition is composed of notes. – The collection comprises 327 paintings. Unlike comprise, compose can be used both actively and passively in a sentence. ( 3) On the other hand, COMPRISE is not followed by OF. Correctly: correct: Wisconsin comprises 72 counties is it unnecessary to use ‘ of here! Means one the same thing of. `` they mean and the whole, but the whole all... 3 ) on the other hand, comprise is not followed by of. `` making the to... The web data center management tips most popular phrase on the other hand, comprises from! Not my grammar radar is formed of devoted wine lovers one can object illogical! ” ( departments ) our industry is puzzling prepositions ( `` of '' correct, made! Supports His or her view hope people who are applying for patents use the words ‘ ’. 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