comprise
part of speech
verb (comprise, comprises, comprised, comprising)
meaning for a pupil
1) (formal) To be made up of certain parts; to consist of. tree →
2) (formal) To make up or form a whole (this use is common but some people think it is wrong). tree →
sense in the lessons
A formal exam and report word: "the class comprises 15 boys and 12 girls" means the class is made of them, so there are 27 children. Phrases: comprise of (disputed), be comprised of.
examples
- Heaven was created from fire or ether; the earth (comprising sea and land) from the elementary water; and the atmospheric air from the elementary air, or spirit, which establishes the balance among them. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
- 7) Like Pythagoras, who taught that the digits inclusive number ten which are typified in Tetraktys, (Τετρακτὺς) namely: 1 plus 2 plus 3 plus 4 equal 10, and which comprise the whole arithmetical system of nature, etc. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
- The class comprises 15 boys and 12 girls. tree →
- The team comprises eleven players. tree →
- A week comprises seven days. tree →
- The house comprises three bedrooms and a kitchen. tree →
- The test comprised twenty questions. tree →
- Water is comprised of hydrogen and oxygen. tree →
- The sword was the sword of Murakumo, one of the three sacred treasures which comprise the insignia of the Imperial House of Japan. tree →
note
Strict rule: "comprises" without "of" (the whole comprises the parts). "Is comprised of" is common but criticised; "consists of" is safer. In maths, "comprises" lists the parts that add up to the whole: add them to find the total.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «comprise» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.