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In this lesson, master partitives, which provide detailed information about parts or quantities. Clear explanations and practice exercises to help you learn.
What Are Partitives?
Partitives are words or phrases that are used to refer to a part of a whole.
Partitives: Types
There are two types of partitives:
Definite partitives
Indefinite partitives
Definite Partitives
'Definite partitives', also called entity partitives are used to refer to an exact amount or number of something. Definite partitives can be used before countable or uncountable nouns. Here are some of the most common definite partitives:
spoon of
bottle of
piece of
slice of
glass of
Check out the examples:
I added a spoon of the sugar to my coffee.
I ate a slice of the pizza just to taste it.
The girl had only one piece of the cake.
Indefinite Partitives
'Indefinite partitives', also called set partitives are used to refer to an indefinite, or inexact number or amount of something. Here are some of the most important indefinite partitives:
Take a look at some examples with indefinite partitives:
A lot of our students passed the exams.
Many of his friends were doctors.
Pour some of the water on her face.
I accidentally spilled half of the milk on the floor.
Partitives: Structure
A noun phrase that contains a partitive follows the following structure:
quantifier word + 'of' + central determiner + noun phrase
In this structure, the quantifier word specifies a subset or part of the noun which represents the whole or complete set. The central determiner is usually an article, demonstrative, or possessive determiner. The quantifier and the preposition 'of' form a determiner together. Here are some examples:
We watched some of her wildest dreams come true.
Half of these excuses are outright ridiculous.
Partitive vs. Quantitative
Keep in mind that, in most cases, absence of the central determiner causes the phrase to act as a quantitative rather than a partitive. Quantitative structures refer to a specific quantity or number of things, while partitives emphasize a part or subset of the entity. Compare the examples:
Give me a glass of milk.
This sentence simply refers to a quantity of milk.
Add a glass of the milk to the batter.
This structure refers to a part of the whole quantity of the milk, implying that there is more milk but only a glass is needed at this point.
A couple of birds flew by.
A couple of the birds took flight when I passed by.
Partitives: Features
Partitives have a number of common features that govern their use.
Pre-determiners
An important point to remember is that partitive phrases are always used as pre-determiners because, as we saw, a central determiner is required after them. For example:
Lots of the animals were hunted by illegal hunters.
A group of her students protested the difficulty of the exam.
Two cloves of these garlics were used to make the sauce.
Tip!
Some indefinite partitives can be used without the preposition 'of'. In this case, they function as indefinite determiners. Here are some examples:
Some animals live on farms.
Those many moments together make it hard to forget her.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Whether the partitives are used with countable or uncountable nouns depends on the quantifier word they use. For example, "many of," and "a number of, " can only be used with plural countable nouns while "a lot of," "some of," and "half of" can be used with both plural countable and uncountable nouns, "glass of" and "spoon of" can only be used with uncountable nouns and "piece of" and "slice of" are only used with singular countable nouns. Check out the examples:
A lot of the workers are not satisfied with the boss.
"A lot of" with a plural countable noun.
I wasted a lot of my money on useless things.
"A lot of" with an uncountable noun.
Use a spoonful of the sugar in your coffee.
"Spoonful of" with an uncountable nouns.
I took a piece of the cake and sat to eat it.
A Portion of a Whole
All partitives refer to a portion of a whole. However, they differ in the size of the portion they refer to. Take a look at the table below.
Partitives | |
|---|---|
Large portion | a lot of/lots of |
many of | |
half of | |
a number of | |
some of | |
Small portion | none of |
Plural Partitives
You can use a 'plural partitive' if it corresponds to the meaning of the sentence. Check out the examples:
Lots of our products were grown on this farm.
We bought two bottles of their home-brewed beer.
Review
Partitives are words that are used before a noun to refer to only a part of the particular noun. Partitives can be categorized into two general classes:
Definite partitives: half of, spoonful of, glass of, slice of
Indefinite partitives: some of, much of, lots of
Quiz:
Fill the table by choosing whether each sentence uses a definite or indefinite partitive.
She drank a glass of the orange juice. | |
Many of our employees work remotely. | |
Add two spoons of the sugar to the mixture. | |
I'll take a slice of that pizza. | |
None of these answers seem correct. |
Sort the words to form a correct sentence with a partitive.
Which option does not include a partitive?
Some of the guests arrived late.
We need a slice of bread.
Add two spoons of the sugar.
Many of his ideas were rejected.
Complete each sentence with the correct partitive form the parentheses.
the students passed the exam. (Many of/Slice of)
She added
the salt to the soup. (a number of/some of)
I need
the juice for the party. (two bottles of/two pieces of)
these apples are rotten. (a lot of/a spoon of)
Which partitive phrase indicates the smallest portion of a whole?
Some of the guests arrived early.
Half of the students passed the test.
Many of the cookies remained.
A lot of the cake was eaten.
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