Usage Friday: Comprise

"Comprise" is one tricky gentlewoman of a word. The first time I heard about something being "comprised of" its parts, it felt like I was among an audience of geniuses. But then, decades later, I found out that I'd been using the word all wrong. In fact, I was using it backwards. A whole comprises its parts!

Samantha Garner wrote a great explanation for the word "comprise," and I'm assuming from her last name that she's heir to the Great American Usage Legacy of Bryan Garner:

According to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, the word "comprise" means, "literally, 'embrace.' A zoo comprises mammals, reptiles and birds (because it 'embraces' or 'includes' them.)" As "comprise" is a synonym for "embrace" or "include", adding the word "of" at the end is incorrect, because one would not say something was "embraced of" or "included of." These are clearly incorrect. When using the word "comprise", remember that it means "include" or "embrace", and you will correctly omit the word "of" from the phrase.

Furthermore, Garner explains that it's not as simple as reversing the subject and direct object:

Another common mistake in using the word "comprise" is mixing up the relationship between an object and the elements that make up that object. An example of this confusion can be seen the sentence, "mammals, reptiles and birds comprise a zoo." Since "comprise" is a synonym for the word "include", practice replacing "comprise" with "include" and see if the sentence still makes sense. Doing this, the above sentence means, "mamals, reptiles and birds include a zoo," which most people would identify as very incorrect. If you want to talk about the parts that make up a larger whole, use the word "constitute" instead. Using the above example to illustrate, the animals constitute a zoo, but a zoo comprises animals.

So with that information, I will hereby attempt a few sample sentences correctly using the word "comprise" (or replacing "comprise" with a better word):

1) A good playground comprises a jungle gym, a water fountain, and at least three swings.

2) Beer and cheese constitute beer-cheese soup.

3) The goat's lunch comprised three tin cans, a duffel bag, and a pencil sharpener.

A whole comprises ("includes") its parts. Its parts constitute the whole.

Thanks, Garner Family!