Grammar and vocabulary

Problem words: comprise,

be composed of, consist of,
constitutE make up, include
Grammar and vocabulary

Classifying phrases

Problem-solution phrases
Word order in as-clauses

1 Problem words: comprise, be composed of,
consist of, constitute, make up, include
These verbs are often used in describing classifications.
1.1 Read the information and decide whether
sentences 1-10 from students' writing are right
(J) or wrong 00. Suggest a correction for wrong
sentences.
comprise
We can say that something comprises particular
things when we mention all of its parts (e.g. The book
comprises eight chapters.)
be composed of / consist of
We can use either is composed of or consist of to say
that something is formed from various things (e.g. Words
are composed of / consist of individual sounds.)
Warning: don't use the passive form of consist of. Some
people think that using be comprised of in the same way
as be composed of/ consists of is wrong, so it is best to
avoid it.
constitute
We use constitute in an opposite way to comprise /
be composed of / consist of, to say that parts of
something form the whole (e.g. The factory employees
constituted the whole settlement.) or a fraction of the
whole (e.g. Right-handed people constitute a majority of
the population.).
1. The sample of patients was consisted of only
met between the ages of 40 and 50.
2 This sample was drawn from four locations in the
country and comprised 40 families.
3 The European Council of Ministers is consisting o
politicians from each member state.
4 Prepositions comprise a closed class of
words; that is, no new items can be added.
5 The sales of the company includes 40%
domestic and 60% export sales.
6 More than half the audience constituted
women.
7 Body cell mass makes up approximately 55%
of total body weight.
8 A team of ten people, which consisted of the threi
authors of the paper, collected the data over a six
month period in 2008.
9 Adjectives in the research articles that indicate
attitude include 'thoughtful', 'significant', and
'serious'.
10 My recording equipment is comprised of three
we cameras and a microphone.
2 Classifying phrases
2.1 a Match sentence beginnings 1-5 to endings a-e.
Add appropriate prepositions. Use a dictionary to help you.
1 Policies designed to influence polluter behaviour
can be classified ...
make up / be made up of
Make up (active) has the same meaning as constitute
(e.g. The Bangladeshi community makes up 0.5% of
the total population of the UK.), while be made up of
(passive) has the same meaning as be composed of /
consists of (e.g. Molecules are made up of electrons,
protons, and neutrons.).
3 Survey respondents were divided ...
4 Roberts (2010) looks at pensions as distinct ...
5 Foraging behaviour in any animal consists ...
include
We use include to say that a thing contains something
as a part (e.g. Table 3.1 includes information about
occupation of participants.).
a ... other types of employee benefit.
... short-answer questions and essays.
... two main components - food searching and
food consumption.
Warning: don't use include when we mention all the
parts of something. Instead, use comprise.
Warning: don't use the continuous form of any of
these verbs.
2 Among the most common assessment types, a
distinction can be made ...
... three categories: moral persuasion, direct
controls and methods that rely on market
processes.
... three groups according to the area of the city
they were living in.
b Make a note of any language in the sentences in
2.1a that will be useful to you when you are writing
about classifications in your own subject.