Compose means to be or constitute a part of element of or to make up or form the basis of, as in Eight slices compose the pie. However, the passive voice of comprise must be employed carefully to make sense. Comprised of is an expression in English that means "composed of" or "constituted by". - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! 'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'? Fifty states compose (or make up) the Union. The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionariesregard the form "comprised of" as standard English usage, but according to Oxford the construction "x comprises of y and z" is considered … However, with the meaning of comprise that is the commonest (and is not disputed), the parallel pair is not possible for comprise(d). "Is comprised of" should properly be rephrased as either "comprises" or "is composed of" ("the galaxy comprises many stars" or "the galaxy is composed of many stars"). The clinical trials proved that the vaccine is safe and efficient at preventing COVID-19 infection. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) shows that the verb comprise has been used with a range of meanings. Lets take a closer look at the definitions to put this in context: comprise is a verb that means to include or contain or to consist of as in The pie comprises 8 slices. By linguistics convention, an asterisk in front of a putative sentence or phrase denotes its ungrammaticality to native speakers of the language. These include Gowers and Fraser's The Complete Plain Words[41] and the style guides of The Economist[42] and The Times. comprised of May 31, 2016 yanira.vargas. Comprise is often misused for compose. Those who say or write such a thing are confusing it with composed of. It is comprised of police and other law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border. Summary ", "comprise, consist, compose or constitute? The similar-sounding word compose means "make up" as in Many ethnic groups compose our nation. "[27] Linguist Geoff Nunberg described the editor's ongoing "jihad" against the use of the phrase an "example of the pedant's veto" and that the community was "resigned to letting him have his way" despite its being illogical. Il Posner-Klein è costituito da nostri ex colleghi. What made you want to look up comprised of? I am almost positive, however, that 'composed by' is used exclusively with music, since the act of "composing" something is always centered around music. If you want to be correct in the eyes of discriminating readers, use "composed of." It’s common for speakers to say that a basketball team “is comprised of five players” instead of “is composed of five players.” So we can take the above example sentences and reword them thus: His country is comprised of fifty states and one district. [32] Reuters' style guide also advises against using the phrase,[33] as does the IBM style guide. Comprised of is an expression in English that means "to compose or constitute". [1] The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionaries regard the form "comprised of" as standard English usage,[2][3][4] but according to Oxford the construction "x comprises of y and z" is considered incorrect. (However, it notes that "Many of the early passages in which this word occurs are so vague that it is difficult to gather the exact sense.") [27] The OED gives use 8.b of comprise as "To constitute, make up, compose", and dates this back to 1794; and it has been used by respected writers (for example, Charles Dickens[29]). People use 'composed of' to define what a substance is made out of. 6 of Huddleston and Pullum. The key rule to remem… Neither is unclear in the context; both are legitimate. In the English of the 20th and 21st centuries, the part/whole meanings have been overwhelmingly important. The main ingredient is a messenger RNA that encodes the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is used to trigger an immune response. [49], With what is likely to have been a different meaning, it goes back to 1661 if not earlier. "[45] Conversely, Edinburgh University linguistics professor Geoffrey Pullum writes "I’d happily comply with an edict limiting comprise to its original sense … I see no reason to favor the inverted sense. 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