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In English grammar, a partitive is a word or phrase that refers to a part or quantity of something; It is generally an uncountable noun. For example: A piece of cake / «A piece of cake». Partitives are also known as “partitive articles” or “partitive phrases.”
Countable and uncountable nouns
To understand what partitives are in English grammar it is necessary to first understand what countable and uncountable nouns are.
Nouns or nouns are words that represent people, objects, places, ideas, etc., and can be part of the subject, be the object (direct or indirect complement) of the verb or follow a preposition. Nouns can be divided into:
- Countables or countable nouns : they are objects, people, places, animals, places; that is, everything that can be counted . For example: book / “book”; pen / “pen”; child / “child”; cat / “cat”; house / “house”; road / «way».
- Uncountable or uncountable nouns: are objects that cannot be counted. They can be food, feelings or abstract concepts. For example: sand / »sand»; love / “love”; wind / “wind”; news / «news».
partitives
Partitives indicate a portion or part of something and are measure words . They are often used to quantify uncountable nouns, but can also be used with some countable nouns.
Partitives can be units of measure, articles, or expressions. For example : a slice of bread / “a slice of bread”; a cup of water / “a cup of water”; three tablespoons of honey / «three tablespoons of honey».
types of partitives
Partitives can also be:
- Nouns: they are generally part of partitive phrases and indicate portions, containers or parts of something. For example: a piece of / “a piece of”; a jar of / “a jar of”; etc Nouns related to location and time are also included within this category: the end of the street / “at the end of the street”; on the front of the car / “in the front of the car”; the middle of the week / «half of the week»; the beginning of the month / «the beginning of the month».
- Items: These indicate an approximate amount or a part of the total. Some examples are: some / something; any / “something, a little”.
- Units of measure: These partitives are mainly used to count food, drinks, and other uncountable materials such as liquids, gases, and tiny objects: a liter of detergent / “a liter of detergent”; a ton of coal / «a ton of coal».
partitive phrase
Partitives can appear on their own or form phrases that are known partitive expressions . These refer to the characteristics of something according to its quantity, size or shape.
Some partitive expressions include words that end with –ful , such as: handful / «puñado». Other expressions refer to containers that contain the material mentioned: a bottle of wine / “a bottle of wine”; a box of chocolate / «a box of chocolates».
As can be seen in the examples above, the structure of the partitive phrase usually includes:
- The quantity: a , two , three , etc.
- The unit of measure: a cup / “a cup”; a teaspoon / “a teaspoon”; a glass / “a glass”, etc.
- The preposition of .
- The uncountable noun: water / «water»; coffee / “coffee”; information / “information”; hope / “hope”.
Examples of partitives
Some examples of the most common partitives are:
| Partitive | Meaning |
| A lot of | “A lot” |
| A bit of | “A bit of” |
| some of | “A bit of” |
| A scoop of | “A spoonful of” |
| A loaf of | “a loaf of” |
| A bag of | “A bag of” |
| A jar of | “a jug of” |
| A cup of | “A cup of” |
| a glass of | “A glass of” |
| a teaspoon of | “A teaspoon of” |
| A tablespoon of | “A spoonful of” |
| A grain of | “A grain of” |
| A spoonful of | “A spoonful of” |
| A dose of | “A Dose of” |
| A drop of | “a drop of” |
| A bar of | “A loaf of” |
| A pinch of | “A little bit of” |
| a bowl of | “a bowl of” |
| A block of | “A block of” |
| a bottle of | “A bottle of” |
| a third of | “one third of” |
| a quarter of | “A quart of” |
Other examples of sentences with partitives
Some examples of sentences that include the use of partitives are:
- There’s some water in the fridge. / “There is some water in the fridge.”
- Would you like some cheese? / “How about some cheese?”
- There is some good news. / “There is good news.”
- Is there any salt? / “Is there a little salt?”
- She needs some information about the scholarship. / “She needs some information about the scholarship.”
- There is some truth in what he said. / “There is some truth in what he said.”
- I will have a cup of tea with milk. / “I’ll have a cup of tea with milk.”
- We should eat a piece of fruit every day. / “We should eat some fruit every day.”
- He felt like having a bit of fun after working all day. / “He wanted to have a little fun after working all day.”
- They bought a new piece of furniture for their living room. / “They bought a new piece of furniture for the living room.”
Common expressions with partitives
In addition to the examples mentioned above, there are popular colloquial expressions that include partitives:
- A piece of advice / «Un consejo».
- A fit of anger / «An arrangement of anger».
- A work of art / «A work of art».
- An item of clothing / «A garment of clothing».
- A breath of fresh air / «A breath of fresh air».
- A clove of garlic / «A clove of garlic».
- A glimmer of hope / «A glimmer of hope».
- A sense of humor / «A sense of humor».
- A touch of irony / «A touch of irony».
- A minute of silence / «A minute of silence».
Bibliography
- Welsch, D. Colloquial English: Vocabulary and Essential Expressions. (2016). Spain. CreateSpace.
- Sánchez Benedito, F. English Grammar . (2007). Spain. Anaya Group.
- Chacon Beltran, R.; Senra Silva, I. English Grammar for Spanish Speakers . (2017). Spain. Cambridge University Press.
- Uncountable nouns in English . Ring Teacher, 2020. Available at https://www.ringteacher.com/materiales-didacticos/sustantivos-ingles/sustantivos-incontables-ingles/.
