English Language & Usage Asked on January 2, 2021
Mark Twain said,
Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person.
What my question boils down to is this: Could Twain have used consists of there instead of consists in and still meant the same thing? In other words, are there nuances to the word consist that shade the meaning in such a way that a different preposition is desirable?
Note that a search of the corpus shows consists in steadily declining since the 19th century (Twain’s), and consists of may be supplanting it in all meanings.
Consist seems to occur in two constructions, one of which is followed by a list of Noun Phrase constituents introduced by of, but generally not in:
The other construction is usually followed by a gerund clause or a list of parallel gerunds, and this allows in, and also of.
Though of sounds a bit off to me in the sentence above; this is probably due to my own personal usage habits, however, rather than to any rule. Preposition usage in cases like this is often idiosyncratic and fluid. Don't trust usage books; they're just personal opinions that got published, not evidence.
Correct answer by John Lawler on January 2, 2021
The OED shows that the use of consist of and consist in has been unsettled over the centuries. There is just one definition given for the former:
To be made up or composed of; to have as its constituent substance or elements.
However, the latter has six definitions, of which I think the one which applies to Twain’s use is:
To have its essence or essential character in.
It follows that I don’t think Twain could have used consists of here. As I read it, he is emphasising the essential qualities of good breeding, rather than the elements that make it up. Consist of seems to me to be best reserved for more tangible things like lists of ingredients, where consist in can certainly not be used.
Answered by Barrie England on January 2, 2021
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