Here's a breakdown:
What does it indicate?
* Part of a whole: "I ate a piece of cake." (Piece is the partitive noun, referring to a part of the whole cake)
* Quantity: "There was a flock of birds in the sky." (Flock is the partitive noun, indicating a quantity of birds)
* Fraction: "I drank a cup of coffee." (Cup is the partitive noun, representing a fraction of the total coffee)
* Group: "The team won the championship." (Team is the partitive noun, indicating a group of people)
Examples:
* Piece: piece of pie, piece of wood, piece of advice
* Cup: cup of tea, cup of flour, cup of sugar
* Slice: slice of bread, slice of pizza, slice of life
* Bunch: bunch of grapes, bunch of keys, bunch of flowers
* Dozen: dozen eggs, dozen roses, dozen cookies
Key Characteristics:
* Partitive nouns are often followed by *of* and another noun that specifies the whole.
* They can be singular or plural.
* They often describe a countable or measurable quantity.
Important Note: Not all nouns that appear before *of* are partitive nouns. For example, "a box of cereal" is not a partitive noun because "box" refers to the container, not a part of the cereal itself.
Understanding partitive nouns helps you understand how we express quantity, portion, and grouping in language.