I woke up one morning recently with the verb "comprise" on my mind. Well, actually I had some Frank Sinatra song on my mind, but for some reason, the verb "comprise" showed up, too. The whole comprises the parts, so this construction -- many neighborhoods comprise the city -- is WRONG. Here is the right way to use the word: The city comprises many neighborhoods. The zoo comprises lions, tigers and bears. It is incorrect to say that lions, tigers and bears comprise the zoo. "Comprise" is almost synonymous with "include," but "comprise" means to include everything. Here are examples of correct use: * But Microsoft said that it is facing a government case that was nearly two years in the making, one that comprised thousands of pages of documents and dozens of interviews with industry executives, including some from its toughest rivals. * In 1993, the entire White House counsel staff comprised only four people, he charged. Here are some examples of MISUSE. In every sentence, substitute "make up" or "compose." * And while women comprise between 30 percent and 35 percent of all tenured and tenure-track faculty nationally, the figure at NCSU is 16 percent. * That survey found that black students, who comprise about 30 percent of the state's school enrollment, accounted for 56 percent of almost 120,000 reported suspensions. * The phone networks designed for voice were sending more and more video, pictures and computer data that comprised the World Wide Web. (The Web comprises video, pictures and computer data.) A final caution: Comprise is best used in the active voice. Don't use "is comprised of." See the AP stylebook entry "compose, comprise, constitute."