A Word, Please: Does a trio include? Not if a writer follows the rule

“The trio includes Barry, Robin and Maurice.”

That sentence probably seems fine to you. But if I saw it in an article I was copy editing, it would not be fine with me. The reason? A trio has three people. The word “includes” suggests it has more.

“Use ‘include’ to introduce a series when the items that follow are only part of the total: The price includes breakfast. The zoo includes lions and tigers,” the Associated Press Stylebook instructs editors. “Use ‘comprise’ when the full list of individual elements is given: The zoo comprises 100 types of animals, including lions and tigers.”

The equally influential Chicago Manual of Style agrees. “‘Include’ implies nonexclusivity — the collection includes 126 portraits (suggesting that there is much else in the collection) — while ‘comprise’ implies exclusivity — the collection comprises 126 silver spoons (suggesting that nothing else is part of the collection).”

Logic bolsters their case: When someone includes you in a group, you’re just part of the group.

Lots of other sources tell us “include” can’t be used to introduce everything in the group, only parts of it. So this should be case closed. But in language, nothing is ever this simple.

“There are quite a few commentators,” begins Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, who maintain that ‘include’ should not be used when a complete list of items follows a verb.” Merriam’s begs to differ. Citing the venerable Fowler’s Modern English Usage, Merriam’s firmly asserts that there’s nothing wrong with using “include” to introduce all the items in the set.

In my view, language rules work as follows: If some grammar books say you can’t do something and others say you can, it means you can. The reason: None of them has ultimate authority. You get to choose which one you heed. So you can follow the more permissive style and know you’re not making a mistake, provided you don’t mind some people thinking you’re wrong.

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This is why I often end up siding with the very permissive Merriam’s usage guide over other, more prescriptive authorities.

Often. But not this time.

Merriam’s argument for an all-inclusive “include” is too flimsy. To make its case, the guide relies solely on a passage from Fowler’s, a book that Merriam’s usually criticizes.

But Merriam’s doesn’t base its case on Fowler’s words, exactly. Instead, Merriam’s finds the evidence it’s looking for between the lines of this passage from Fowler’s.

“With ‘include,’” Fowler’s writes, “there is no presumption (though it is often the fact) that all or even most of the components are mentioned.”

In other words, readers who see the word “include” don’t assume that the stuff that follows will make up the whole set. True enough.

But Merriam’s interpretation gets weird: “The critics,” Merriam’s says, “have somehow reasoned themselves into the notion that with ‘include,’ all of the components must not be mentioned, which has never been the case. Fowler’s comments accurately describe how ‘include’ is used.”

That’s not evidence. That’s inference. It’s also a stretch, since Fowler’s most definitely does not take Merriam’s side: “Good writers say ‘comprise’ when looking at the matter from the point of view of the whole, ‘include’ from that of the part,” Fowler’s says.

In my humble view, Merriam’s swing-and-a-miss proves that “include” should introduce only some things in a group, not all. So I never allow statements like “the trio includes” when three items follow.

But I don’t love the recommended solution, “comprise,” either. “The trio comprises Barry, Robin and Maurice” may be correct, but it sounds stuffy and weird in most contexts. And when your words are drawing attention to themselves, they’re drawing attention away from your message.

That’s why I recommend looking for plain-language alternatives like “the trio is made up of.” If that fails, you can reword the sentence entirely: Brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb make up the Bee Gees.

June Casagrande is the author of “The Joy of Syntax: A Simple Guide to All the Grammar You Know You Should Know.” She can be reached at [email protected].