Thread: Test question

Which one of the following sentences contains a misused word?

1. There are fifty states that compose the United States.
2. I complimented my host for the delicious dinner.
3. I was chosen because I am a disinterested party.
4. An orchestra is made up of many instruments.
5. You are considering a choice among several sentences.

The first one.

None

These two are debatable:

1. There are fifty states that compose the United States.

Grammar Bite: Compose vs. Comprise

The traditional rule states that the whole comprises the parts and the parts compose the whole. In strict usage: The Union comprises 50 states. Fifty states compose (or constitute or make up) the Union. Even though careful writers often maintain this distinction, comprise is increasingly used in place of compose, especially in the passive: The Union is comprised of 50 states. Our surveys show that opposition to this usage is abating. In the 1960s, 53 percent of the Usage Panel found this usage unacceptable; in 1996, only 35 percent objected.

3. I was chosen because I am a disinterested party

Grammar Girl : "Disinterested" Versus "Uninterested" :: Quick and Dirty Tips

An uninterested person is bored, unconcerned, or indifferent; a disinterested person is impartial, unbiased, or has no stake in the outcome. If you're on trial, you want a disinterested judge. Unless you're a lawyer, the word you're generally looking for is "uninterested," but a quick news search shows that "disinterested" is frequently misused by the media. Here's how to use them properly:

Squiggly couldn't help yawning, he wasuninterested in fishing stories.


The ex-wife can hardly be considered adisinterested party.

This is British English. Maybe they have some conservative rule?

Originally Posted by Lampada

The first one.

Why do you think the first one?

Originally Posted by rockzmom

These two are debatable:

1. There are fifty states that compose the United States.

Grammar Bite: Compose vs. Comprise

The traditional rule states that the whole comprises the parts and the parts compose the whole. In strict usage: The Union comprises 50 states. Fifty states compose (or constitute or make up) the Union. Even though careful writers often maintain this distinction, comprise is increasingly used in place of compose, especially in the passive: The Union is comprised of 50 states. Our surveys show that opposition to this usage is abating. In the 1960s, 53 percent of the Usage Panel found this usage unacceptable; in 1996, only 35 percent objected.

3. I was chosen because I am a disinterested party

Grammar Girl : "Disinterested" Versus "Uninterested" :: Quick and Dirty Tips

An uninterested person is bored, unconcerned, or indifferent; a disinterested person is impartial, unbiased, or has no stake in the outcome. If you're on trial, you want a disinterested judge. Unless you're a lawyer, the word you're generally looking for is "uninterested," but a quick news search shows that "disinterested" is frequently misused by the media. Here's how to use them properly:

Squiggly couldn't help yawning, he wasuninterested in fishing stories.


The ex-wife can hardly be considered adisinterested party.

So it looks like every sentence is correct )

These sentences seem to have relatively common usage, though I wouldn't use all of them. One that has a little quibble in it is about the orchestra. And that question is about whether the orchestra is actually the players and their instruments + conductor, etc or the instruments alone. As a musician, my view is that the orchestra is actually the people + instruments. A collection of instruments is not an orchestra. But I can understand that people could look at it differently.