Comments on: "originality consists in returning to the origin" -Gaudi

Question: "originality consists in returning to the origin" -Gaudi

primer_dimer — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 02:28:07 -0800

Correct use: "consists of" vs "consists in"

I've been unable to get a straight answer to this anywhere else, but I know that mefi has more than its fair share of spelling/grammar/usage nazis, so I ask you: what's the deal with "consists of" and "consists in"? Google gives plenty of examples of both; is there a rule?

By: grouse

grouse — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 02:32:40 -0800

Consist in means "is inherent in or lies within": His social success consists in being able to persuade everyone of his amiability. It usually occurs in sentences with singular subjects that consist in either singular or plural nominals. Consist of means "is composed or made up of": His fleet consists of a day sailer, a canoe, and a small skiff. It usually appears in a sentence with a singular subject that consists of a plural group of nominals.

The Columbia Guide to Standard American English.

By: handee

handee — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 02:44:31 -0800

Partridge and Whitcut's "Usage and Abusage" has this to say:

"Consist in and consist of. Consist in is, in general, 'to have its being in'; specifically, 'to be comprised or contained in (actions, conditions, qualities', or other things non-material); 'to be constituded of', as in 'Moral government consists... in rewarding the righteous, and punishing the wicked' (Butler, 1736), 'Not every one can tell in what the beauty of a figure consists' (Jowett). Consist of is 'to be made up - or, composed - of; to have as its constituent parts, or as its substance', as in 'Newton considered light to consist of particles darted out fom luminous bodies' (Tyndall), 'An ordinary fence, consisting of a ditch and a bank' (Edge) (OED)."

By: ouke

ouke — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 05:44:11 -0800

Am I derailing this topic when I thank you for this wonderful quote?

By: MonkeySaltedNuts

MonkeySaltedNuts — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 06:17:21 -0800

I feel it might be purely gramatical

consists of N[plur]
consists in V+ing

By: joannemerriam

joannemerriam — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 07:10:46 -0800

Consists in should be replaceable by "exists inside of" or "exists because of," while consists of should be replaceable by "is made up of."

By: Rash

Rash — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 09:14:38 -0800

I have never read or heard anybody say "consists in." Just sounds wrong, like the preposition-challenged New Yorkers who stand on line when they queue up.

By: MonkeySaltedNuts

MonkeySaltedNuts — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 09:24:04 -0800

I have never read or heard anybody say "consists in."

Google is your friend. about 8,290,000 hits.

By: evinrude

evinrude — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 15:28:06 -0800

According to the Tragically Hip, "the human tragedy consists in the necessity of living with the consequences" (of the important things we do). I always thought it was a grammatical error until I read this thread.

By: lunchbox

lunchbox — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 08:50:31 -0800

MonkeySaltedNuts is right. I think this is discussed in The Elements of Style. For demonstration, look at the examples people have given.