17 April 2008

don't do this.

Achtung, English speakers:


com·prise. [kuhm-prahyz] –verb (used with object), -prised, -pris·ing.

1.to include or contain: The TUR authorship comprises several states and cities.
2.to consist of; be composed of: The tighten up report comprises 24 members.
3.to form or constitute: Tightening up comprised the day's activities.

WRONG: Cuba Gooding Jr.'s skill set is comprised of acting, singing, and dancing abilities.

I don't care if dictionary.com says that's a colloquial use. It's irritating so stop using it.

4 comments:

bodenner said...

unlike most things in life, language should be a popularity contest.

Ralph Bodenner said...

Replace with "is composed of" in that WRONG sentence, and you've made it all right again! Except that the sentence still mentions Cuba Gooding, Jr., who frankly gets too much damn attention from this blog. Out of proportion to his acting talent, I mean.

Orville said...

I think this post could be expanded to the larger trend of the passive voice replacing the active voice in written English. "Cuba Gooding, Jr. blows goats," or, "Cuba Gooding, Jr. blew goats in his most recent performance," are much stronger sentences than either, "Goats are blown by Cuba Gooding, Jr.," or, "Cuba Gooding, Jr. has blown goats in every movie he's acted in ever." Passivity be damned! Tightness will ultimately prevail!

Pepper said...

bodenner 1: disagree
bodenner 2: agree
orville: agree

this comment was posted by pepper