compose v. comprise

Compose and comprise both deal with the relationship between a whole and its parts. The parts compose the whole, and the whole comprises the parts. It’s also valid to say that the whole is composed of its parts, but one would never use the construction, ‘is comprised of’.

To rephrase, compose means, ‘to make up the parts of’; comprise means, ‘to include’ or ‘to consist of’. In a sentence, when the whole comes before the parts, use ‘comprise’ or ‘is composed of’. When the parts come before the whole, use ‘compose’.

Here are some usage examples:

Bret and Jemaine compose Flight of the Conchords.

Flight of the Conchords comprises Bret and Jemaine.

Flight of the Conchords is composed of Bret and Jemaine.

Grammar Girl on compose v. comprise