jezebelkat, 9 months ago

screams That damn Britishism I was just complaining about.

YamaguchiSake, 9 months ago

@jezebelkat
I'm sorry, that's correct American usage as I understand it.
A whole comprises its parts.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprise

jezebelkat, 9 months ago

@YamaguchiSake No way. The whole is COMPRISED OF its parts.

"A whole comprises its parts" is backwards.

The parts comprise the whole.

I'm sorry, the dictionary is wrong. At least in my dialect.

jezebelkat, 9 months ago

@YamaguchiSake

Looks like this is a long-standing argument. I always assumed it was a Britishism. I have never heard an American use it differently from me:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/can-you-use-comprised-of-grammar

FlockOfCats, 9 months ago

@jezebelkat @YamaguchiSake “comprised of” is definitely something that even highly educated people say, so it’s getting hard at this point to say it’s wrong. I avoid it because I know that a journal editor will be a snoot about it and tell an editing or translation client to get their English fixed.

Also it easy enough to just say “consists of” or “composed of”

jezebelkat, 9 months ago

@FlockOfCats @YamaguchiSake

"There is considerable evidence of comprised of in well-edited publications throughout the 20th century:"

I have always used it, and I am sure I have used it in academic writing with no pushback at all.

At this point, it is a correct usage, as long as it is understood to be.