Learn English – the difference between ‘comprise’ and ‘comprise of’

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I am confused between usage of 'comprise' and 'comprise of':

This is what I know:

X comprises of A,B, and C. (Shows elements)

And

A, B, C comprise X. (Shows item)

But then, Cambridge Dictionary says:

The course comprises a class book, a practice book, and a CD.

And

The accommodation comprises six bedrooms and three living rooms.

My questions are:

1 Can I write comprises 'of' instead of 'comprises' in both the sentences?

And

2 If they are not interchangeble, then when should we write 'comprises of'?

Best Answer

I did a quick search @ my usual references:

  1. Collins Dictionary offers search functions for BE and AE.

    • If you search BE, it states:

      The use of of after comprise should be avoided: the library comprises (not comprises of) 500 000 books and manuscripts

    • If you search AE, there is no such statement, but the example given uses "of" only in passive form:

      If you say that something comprises or is comprised of a number of things or people, you mean it has them as its parts or members.

  2. OALD writes:

    comprise - also: be comprised of

  3. Merriam-Webster uses no "of" as well.

So, until I find other references, I'd go with just "comprise" or, if I want to use "of", say "is comprised of".

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