Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

forawhiteguy

Member Since

March 4, 2005

Total number of comments

1

Total number of votes received

0

Bio

Latest Comments

Comprise

  • March 4, 2005, 8:25pm

I completely agree with Sean, but I would like to add a few points.

While the word "comprise" is almost always used with a contiguous "of", when used progressively the word can function perfectly by itself without violating the traditional usage rules.

Example-

Stock in Company A was responsible for nearly all of Mr. Smith’s reported net growth over a five-year period in spite of initially comprising only 20% of his portfolio.

Note that the “of” in the example sentence does not have the same use that the “of” in the term “comprise of” has.

There are situations, too, wherein a present tense “comprise” may be used alone.

Example-

General: What units are included in 3rd Bn?

Colonel: 3rd Bn comprises four companies (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and JPMorgan Chase & Co.) and a headquarters support platoon.