Compose v comprise
(First published in your newsletter Exclaim!)
Some people use compose and comprise interchangeably.
Yet the words in a sense have opposite meanings.Take the sentence: 'Our company is comprised of 20 departments.' Correct? Definitely not. Comprised means to contain, and is never used with of. So the correct wording would be: 'Our company comprises 20 departments.' Another way to say this would be: 'Our company is composed of 20 departments.'
In the first case, we are saying the company has within it (contains) 20 departments. In the latter case, we are saying that 20 departments make up the whole of the company. In other words, comprise is used when we emphasise the whole and show the parts it contains, whereas compose is used when we start with the parts and say that together they make up the whole.
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Yet the words in a sense have opposite meanings.Take the sentence: 'Our company is comprised of 20 departments.' Correct? Definitely not. Comprised means to contain, and is never used with of. So the correct wording would be: 'Our company comprises 20 departments.' Another way to say this would be: 'Our company is composed of 20 departments.'
In the first case, we are saying the company has within it (contains) 20 departments. In the latter case, we are saying that 20 departments make up the whole of the company. In other words, comprise is used when we emphasise the whole and show the parts it contains, whereas compose is used when we start with the parts and say that together they make up the whole.
Want more handy writing tips, plus news and views on the eworld of words? Sign up now for our free newsletter Exclaim!
