Partitive Nouns

Partitive nouns
Definition
In grammar, a partitive is a word or phrase (such as some of or any of) that indicates a part or
quantity of something as distinct from a whole; also called partitive noun or partitive noun
phrase)
Partitives can appear before mass (or noncount) nouns as well as count nouns.
Etymology
From the Latin, "relating to a part"
Examples and Observations
"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but
you cannot fool all the people all the time."
(Abraham Lincoln)
"A lot of movies are about life; mine are like a slice of cake."
(Alfred Hitchcock)
"Now Murrell's eyes followed an ant on a blade of grass, up the blade and down, many
times in the single moment."
(Eudora Welty, "A Still Moment." The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. Harcourt,
1980)
"Soap gumdrops, soap cigars, soap pickles, soap chocolates, and even a bar of soap
soap that dyed its user an indelible blue made life exciting for the friends of a Johnson
Smith addict."
(Jean Shepherd, A Fistful of Fig Newtons. Random House, 1981)
"Not a part of the rock or a speck of moss or a streak of some other mineral, it was one
of those stubborn bits of green felted cardboard that these rocks were always fixed on
inside of the boxes."
(Sharon Fiffer, Buried Stuff. Minotaur Books, 2010)
Partitives With Count Nouns and Noncount Nouns

"Count nouns that can act as the first element in such a structure (e.g. piece, bit, sort,
etc.) arepartitive nouns or partitives. Some words that form the second part of the
construction take specific partitives (also called unit nouns)
a blade of grass
a loaf of bread
a flock of sheep
a speck of dirt
Partitives are useful because they provide a means of counting uncount nouns."
(Sylvia Chalker and Edmund Weiner, Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar. Oxford
University Press, 1994)
Partitives With Foods and Liquids

"Some partitives, such as gallon/liter of, can be applied to any head noun that is a
liquid, and partitives such as ton/gram/pound of can be used to quantify anything that is
appropriately measured by weight. Similarly, partitives such as bottle of can be applied
to different types of liquids that come in this container (e.g., beer, wine, catsup, milk).
In contrast, partitives used to quantify food are more restricted. Portions of baked goods
such as cake, pie, pizza, and bread are measured by slices, and only bread is quantified
by the partitive count noun loaf. Certain types of vegetables (e.g., cauliflower, cabbage,
lettuce) are quantified by head."
(Ron Cowan, The Teacher's Grammar of English: A Course Book and Reference Guide.
Cambridge University Press, 2008)
Functions of Partitives
"Partitive expressions collocate strongly with particular non-count nouns:
a loaf of bread
two slices of bread/cake/cheese/chicken breast
a bar of chocolate/soap
a bit of fun
a piece of furniture
a stroke of luck
a spell of bad weather
. . . Partitive expressions commonly refer to the shape, size, movement or the amount of
something:
There's a whole stream of people queuing outside the post office.
He gave us a torrent of abuse.
. . . Some partitive expressions with -ful refer to containers or spaces which commonly hold the
item referred to. These include bowlful of, cupful of, fistful of, handful of, mouthful of, spoonful
of:
He gave me a fistful of cash. I don't know how much it was all together.
I always add a spoonful of salt to the pasta water.
The plural of such expressions is usually formed by adding -s after -ful."
(Ronald Carter and Michael McCarthy, Cambridge Grammar of English. Cambridge University
Press, 2006)
wad
NOUN
1A mass or lump of a soft material, used for padding, stuffing, or wiping.
a wad of lint-free rag

More example sentences
Synonyms
1. 1.1A portion of tobacco or another narcotic when used for chewing.
I made a wad out of the young leaves and twigs and tried to masticate slowly

2. 1.2historical A disc of felt or another material used to keep powder or shot in
place in a gun barrel.
Example sentences
2A bundle or roll of paper or banknotes.
she held up a wad of greenbacks

Synonyms
1. 2.1informal A large amount of something, especially money.
she was working on TV and had wads of money
3British informal A bun, cake, sandwich, or other piece of food.
tea and wads in some church hall
clove1
NOUN
1The dried flower bud of a tropical tree, used as an aromatic spice.
Example sentences
1. 1.1[MASS NOUN]Aromatic analgesic oil extracted from cloves and used
medicinally to relieve dental pain.
Example sentences
2The Indonesian tree from which cloves are obtained.
Example sentences
3A clove-scented pink which is the original type from which the carnation and other
double pinks have been bred.
Example sentences
clove2
NOUN
Any of the small bulbs making up a compound bulb of garlic, shallot, etc.
rub a dish with a crushed clove of garlic

clove3
past of cleave
cleave1
VERB
[WITH OBJECT]
1Split or sever (something), especially along a natural line or grain.
the large chopper his father used to cleave wood for the fire
Synonyms
1. 1.1Split (a molecule) by breaking a particular chemical bond.
Example sentences
2. 1.2Biology
[NO OBJECT](of a cell) divide.
the egg cleaves to form a mulberry-shaped cluster of cells
3. 1.3Make a way through (something) forcefully, as if by splitting it apart.
they watched a coot cleave the smooth water
[NO OBJECT] an unstoppable warrior clove through their ranks
Origin
Old English clofan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch klieven and German klieben.
Pronunciation:
cleave
Main definitions of cleave in English
: cleave1cleave2
cleave2
VERB
[NO OBJECT]literary
1Stick fast to.
Rose's mouth was dry, her tongue cleaving to the roof of her mouth
Synonyms
1. 1.1Adhere strongly to (a particular pursuit or belief)
part of why we cleave to sports is that excellence is so measurable
2. 1.2Become very strongly involved with or emotionally attached to (someone)

it was his choice to cleave to the Brownings
bolt1
NOUN
1A large metal pin, in particular.

1. 1.1A bar that slides into a socket to fasten a door or window.
Example sentences
2. 1.2A long pin with a head that screws into a nut, used to fasten things together.
Example sentences
3. 1.3The sliding piece of the breech mechanism of a rifle.
Example sentences
4. 1.4Mountaineering
A long pin that is driven into a rock face so that a rope can be attached to it.
Example sentences
2A short, heavy arrow shot from a crossbow.
Example sentences
Synonyms
3A jagged white flash of lightning.
jet1
NOUN
1A rapid stream of liquid or gas forced out of a small opening.
a jet of boiling water spurted over his hand

Synonyms
1. 1.1A nozzle or narrow opening for sending out a jet of liquid or gas.
Example sentences
2A jet engine.
Example sentences
1. 2.1An aircraft powered by one or more jet engines.
a private jet
VERB
[NO OBJECT]
1Spurt out in jets.
blood jetted from his nostrils

Synonyms
2Travel by jet aircraft.
the newly weds jetted off for a honeymoon in New York
speck1
NOUN
1A tiny spot.
the figure in the distance had become a mere speck

Synonyms
1. 1.1A small particle of a substance.
specks of dust
2. 1.2A rotten spot in fruit.
VERB
[WITH OBJECT]
Mark with small spots.
their skin was specked with goose pimples
plank
NOUN
1A long, thin, flat piece of timber, used especially in building and flooring.
Example sentences
Synonyms
2A fundamental point of a political or other programme.
the central plank of the bill is the curb on industrial polluters

3A physical exercise designed to strengthen the abdominal muscles, in which one

performs a press-up and holds the raised position for a set period of time.
the session usually include a lot of core work, lunges, planks, and squats
4British informal A stupid person.
strip2
NOUN
1A long, narrow piece of cloth, paper, plastic, or some other material.
a strip of linen
Synonyms
1. 1.1A long, narrow area of land.
the offensive gained a strip of territory a mile wide
2. 1.2North American A main road in or leading out of a town that is lined with
shops, restaurants, and other facilities.
we went to a discount centre in a strip near where we work
3. 1.3[MASS NOUN]Steel or other metal in the form of narrow flat bars.
the company had purchased 67,423 kg of steel strip
2A comic strip.
[AS MODIFIER] a strip cartoon

3British A programme broadcast regularly at the same time.
he hosts a weekly two-hour advice strip
lump1
NOUN
1A compact mass of a substance, especially one without a definite or regular shape.
there was a lump of ice floating in the milk

Synonyms
1. 1.1A swelling under the skin, especially one caused by injury or disease.
he was unhurt apart from a huge lump on his head

2. 1.2A small cube of sugar.
Example sentences
3. 1.3informal A heavy, ungainly, or slow-witted person.
I won't stand a chance against a big lump like you
2British informal The state of being self-employed and paid without deduction of tax,
especially in the building industry.
Working? Only on the lump, here and there

[AS MODIFIER] lump labour
Phrases
a lump in the throat

o
A feeling of tightness or dryness in the throat caused by strong emotion,

especially sadness.
there was a lump in her throat as she gazed down at her uncle's gaunt features
take (or get) one's lumps

o
informal Suffer punishment; be attacked or defeated.
Jason decided to lie doggo and let Faraday take his lumps
heap
NOUN
1An untidy collection of objects placed haphazardly on top of each other.
a disordered heap of a lot of boxes

her clothes lay in a heap on the floor
Synonyms
1. 1.1An amount of a particular loose substance.
a heap of gravel
2informal A large amount or number of.
we have heaps of room

Synonyms
3informal An untidy or dilapidated place or vehicle.
they climbed back in the heap and headed home
scrap1
NOUN
1A small piece or amount of something, especially one that is left over after the greater
part has been used.
I scribbled her address on a scrap of paper

scraps of information
Synonyms
1. 1.1Bits of uneaten food left after a meal.
he filled Sammy's bowls with fresh water and scraps
2. 1.2Used to emphasize the lack or smallness of something.
there was not a scrap of aggression in him
every scrap of green land is up for grabs by development
3. 1.3informal A small person or animal, especially one regarded with affection or
sympathy.
poor little scrap, she's too hot in that tight coat
4. 1.4A particularly small thing of its kind.
she was wearing a short black skirt and a tiny scrap of a top
2[MASS NOUN] Discarded metal for reprocessing.
the steamer was eventually sold for scrap

1. 2.1[OFTEN AS MODIFIER]Any waste articles or discarded material.
we're burning scrap lumber
he painted scenes on cardboard shirt boxes and other scrap material

Partitive Nouns

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Partitive nouns

Partitives With Count Nouns and Noncount Nouns

Partitives With Foods and Liquids

1A mass or lump of a soft material, used for padding, stuffing, or wiping.

a wad of lint-free rag

More example sentences

2A bundle or roll of paper or banknotes.

she held up a wad of greenbacks

3British informal A bun, cake, sandwich, or other piece of food.

tea and wads in some church hall

1The dried flower bud of a tropical tree, used as an aromatic spice.

2The Indonesian tree from which cloves are obtained.

rub a dish with a crushed clove of garlic

1Split or sever (something), especially along a natural line or grain.

1Stick fast to.

2. 1.2Become very strongly involved with or emotionally attached to (someone)

1A large metal pin, in particular.

2A short, heavy arrow shot from a crossbow.

3A jagged white flash of lightning.

1A rapid stream of liquid or gas forced out of a small opening.

a jet of boiling water spurted over his hand

1Spurt out in jets.

blood jetted from his nostrils

2Travel by jet aircraft.

the newly weds jetted off for a honeymoon in New York

the figure in the distance had become a mere speck

Mark with small spots.

their skin was specked with goose pimples

2A fundamental point of a political or other programme.

the central plank of the bill is the curb on industrial polluters

3A physical exercise designed to strengthen the abdominal muscles, in which one

4British informal A stupid person.

1A long, narrow piece of cloth, paper, plastic, or some other material.

[AS MODIFIER] a strip cartoon

3British A programme broadcast regularly at the same time.

he hosts a weekly two-hour advice strip

1A compact mass of a substance, especially one without a definite or regular shape.

there was a lump of ice floating in the milk

he was unhurt apart from a huge lump on his head

Working? Only on the lump, here and there

a lump in the throat

A feeling of tightness or dryness in the throat caused by strong emotion,

take (or get) one's lumps

informal Suffer punishment; be attacked or defeated.

1An untidy collection of objects placed haphazardly on top of each other.

a disordered heap of a lot of boxes

2informal A large amount or number of.

we have heaps of room

More example sentences

3informal An untidy or dilapidated place or vehicle.

they climbed back in the heap and headed home

I scribbled her address on a scrap of paper

2[MASS NOUN] Discarded metal for reprocessing.

the steamer was eventually sold for scrap

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