Does a whole "compose" its parts?
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Music by Eric Matyas
https://www.soundimage.org
Track title: Riding Sky Waves v001
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Chapters
00:00 Does A Whole &Quot;Compose&Quot; Its Parts?
00:24 Accepted Answer Score 7
00:44 Answer 2 Score 1
00:59 Answer 3 Score 5
01:29 Thank you
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Tags
#wordusage
#avk47
ACCEPTED ANSWER
Score 7
No. Comprises is right.
Compose indicates joining things together. "The cars compose the train; the train is composed of cars."
Comprise indicates splitting a composite (see what I did there?). "The train comprises its cars."
ANSWER 2
Score 5
Why use a relative clause? No verb is needed here; the cars aren't doing anything, after all.
Try either
In order to find the length of the train, you need to measure the individual cars in it.
or
In order to find the length of the train, you need to measure its individual cars.
(The contracted will is also unnecessary in context, so I deleted it too.)
Simpler is clearer.
ANSWER 3
Score 1
The train does not compose its parts.
You could say it as:
In order to find the length of the train, you'll need to measure the individual cars that it is composed of.