Grammar can have a major impact on human lives. A Wikipedia editor called ‘Giraffedata’, for example, has spent an immense amount of time making thousands of changes to the online encyclopaedia, all correcting a single grammatical error.
The grammatical crime that drove this poor man to obsession? People saying ‘comprised of’ instead of ‘composed of’, despite ‘comprise’ and ‘compose’ being opposed terms.
But what is the difference between these words? And how should they be used? For the sake of Giraffedata and others like him, it’s important we find out.
Comprise (The Whole)
The word ‘comprise’ means ‘to constitute or include’, such as when we say:
The week comprises seven days.
This simply means there are seven days in a week. Importantly, since ‘comprise’ describes a whole as inclusive of its parts rather than being constituted by them, it doesn’t make sense to say ‘comprised of’.
Compose (The Parts)
Whereas ‘comprise’ pertains to the whole itself, ‘compose’ is used when referring to the parts that make up a whole:
26 letters compose the English alphabet.
Moreover, since ‘compose’ focuses on the parts, it’s perfectly fine to say ‘composed of’:
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Australia is composed of six states, three federal territories and seven external territories.
In addition, ‘compose’ has a couple of other meanings. The first is the act of composing or creating something, especially in music and painting, which is why we call Mozart a ‘composer’ and refer to musical works as ‘compositions’.
The second is to ‘make oneself tranquil’, such as when we say, ‘I felt angry, but composed myself’.
Comprise or Compose?
The essential difference between ‘comprise’ and ‘compose’ is a matter of whether you’re discussing the whole in terms of its parts, or vice versa. Remember:
The whole comprises the parts; the parts compose the whole.
As such, describing a complex whole as including various components requires using ‘comprise’, whereas ‘compose’ is used when describing the parts that make up a whole.
However, if you take only one thing away from this post, please remember that ‘comprised of’ doesn’t make sense. If we all take this to heart, there’s a Wikipedia editor out there who might finally be able to spend some time with his friends and family.