Partitives, Collectives, & Quantifiers English 100

Dr. Ruthmita H. Rozul

The English language distinguishes between count nouns and noncount nouns. Both of these nouns can be modified by partitive constructions which denote a part of a whole (Celce-Murcia, Larsen-Freeman, 2008).

A partitive is a phrase consisting of a count noun followed by of that precedes another noun.

(det) noun of _____________

a bar of soap

a deck of cards

a litter of

Look at this list containing units of measure used to describe specific quantities of non count nouns.

Use them in sentences

two cups of a carton of a litter of young animals

one piece of a box of a sheet of

a bowl of a handfuf of a bagful of

a quart of a mix of a shelf of

a bar of a pattern of a stick of

Categories of common partitives:

1. precise measure phrases

a cupful of flour

a bag of cement

2. container-based

a shelf of books

a carton of milk

two trays of eggs

3. portion-based

a serving of fruit salad

a slice of bread

50 grams of cinnamon powder

4. individual members of a category

a piece of luggage

a brand of textile

a mile long race

Collectives are nouns taken together and spoken of as one whole. In the phrase ‘a pride of lions’, pride is a collective noun.

Quantifiers are determiners indicative of quantity (e.g. all, both).

Task 1: Use the words on the list to complete the sentences. Use the plural form if necessary. Some sentences have more than one possible answer:

bar glass sheet bottle loaf spoonful

bowl piece tube cup quart ream gallon

TASK 2: Fill in the blanks with appropriate partitives (www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/): 1. He brought two _________________ of cheese. 2. He brought a _________________ of milk at the supermarket.

3. He drank three _______________ of beer.

4. I brought a ________________ of margarine.

5. I need twelve _______________ of bond paper.

6. A _______________ of banana bread is on the table.

7. We need three ______________ of green paint.

8. We nee tow ________________ of toothpaste.

9. He wrote his note on a ________________ a scented paper.

10. Mother always prepares a _______________ of oatmeal for breakfast.

11. Put a _________________ of honey in your tea.

12. I need a _____________ of advice.

13. Please give me the ________________ of ketsup.

14. Please give me _________________ of coffee.

15. I just learned an interesting _______________ of information.

TASK 3: Here are some conversations. Decide what the speakers must say to complete the sentence. Get partners to practice the dialogues.

1. A: Do you want a ______________ coffee? B: I sure do. Thank you. 2. A: I’ll need two ______________ of butter. 3. B: Aren’t two ______________ too much? I think one is just enough. 4. A: Please give me a _________________ of chalk. 5. B: I’ll give you more than a ______________. Here’s a _______________. 6. A: You must have two ________________ of bread to make a sandwich, mustn’t you? 7. B: Well, I want more than two _________________. I can have as many as I want! 8. A: Why don’t you put a __________________ of honey in your tea? 9. B: You know I don’t like honey. I like my tea plain without any _____________ of honey in it. 10. A: I had a _________________ of milk for breakfast.
11. B: How can you last with just a _________________ of milk? You’ll be running the marathon this morning, won’t you?
12. A: I didn’t just have a _____________ of milk. I also had a ___________ of spaghetti, a __________ of a chicken, a _________ of soup, a __________ of fruit and a ___________ of my favorite chocolate. 13. B: Wow! You really are ready to run the marathon!

Task 4: Amy and Steve are talking based on the pictures. Create a dialogue about what you think they’re discussing. Use partitives, collectives and quantifiers.

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Task 5: My Grandfather’s Store (modified from from Azar, 1999)

A favorite game for adults and children alike is called “My Grandfather’s Store” which sells just a about anything anyone would ever think of. a glass of mango shake a cup of brown sugar a leg of chicken a plate of duck
Imagine that it’s the town fiesta and you need a lot of fresh ingredients to cook up a delightful meal for guests. You’ll buy everything that you will need from Grandfather’s Store. The trick is that the things you will buy must follow the alphabet from A to Z. Use partitives, collectives and quantifiers

Student A begins: I need a _________________ avocadoes. (A)
Student B: I need a basket of avocadoes.
Student C: I need a ________________ of bananas. (B)
Student D: I need a ______________ of bananas.
Student E: I need a ______________ of caramel. (C)
Student F: I need a ______________ of caramel.

Task 6. Mini-sagas

A mini –saga is a story which is made up of exactly 50 words. A mini-saga may be considered a creative masterpiece.

Examples of mini—sagas (Swan and Walter, 1993):

A. Title: ____________________________

When Sally found a man’s striped sock curled among her clothes at the laundrenette, she returned it to the tall, dark, young man with a shy smile. They met there every week for several months, then were seen no more. One of their wedding presents had been a washing machine.

B. Title: ___________________________

Their marriage was a perfect union of trust and understanding. They shared everything – except his desk drawer which, through the years, remained locked. One day, curiosity overcame her. Prised open, there was – nothing. “But why?” she asked, confused and ashamed. “I needed a space of my own,” he replied sadly.

What titles can you give to those two mini-sagas?

Task 7. Shortening sentences and writing economically

To prepare you in writing mini-sagas, do this exercise. It will help you not to be daunted by overblown, excessively wordy writing. Long complicated sentences may have very simple meanings. You may use dictionaries only when they are absolutely necessary. Try guessing intelligently.

Shorten these sentences:

Example: My physical condition is, on the whole, one in which food would be of considerable benefit. (I’m hungry.)

1. I am telling no more than the truth when I say that George is a habitual consumer of tobacco. (Rewrite the sentence in two words.)

2. In her employment, Mary showed a thoroughly satisfactory degree of energy and efficiency. (four words or less)

3. It is undeniable that the large majority of non-native learners of English experience a number of problems in attempting to master the phonetic patterns of the language. (eight words or less)

4. I have had to give up the belief, which I previously held, in the existence of a kind, white-haired, bearded figure who was accustomed to visit private houses on the anniversary of the birth of the Christian religion, in order to distribute gifts to young people. (nine words or less)

5. Tea, whether of the China or Indian variety, is well-known to be high on the list of those drinks which are most frequently consumed by the inhabitants of the British Isles. (seven words or less)

Task 7: Arrange these sentences in the right order to complete a mini-saga.

None of her friends knew. An ounce of courage was what she needed. “Today’s the big day!” She woke up with a start. This part of her life needed makeover, the remainder of a life ruined by wrong choices. She had been preparing for weeks, nearly a month, in secret.

Write the right sequence here: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Task 8: Refer back to Task 7.

1. What do you think the mini-saga is about? __________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What could be a good title for this mini-saga. ______________________________________________________________________________

Task 9: Writing mini-sagas using partitives, collectives and quantifiers.
Steps in writing a mini-saga: 1. Review the elements of good storytelling and writing. These are character, setting, plot, conflict and theme. 2. Guess how short a story could be written while containing these elements. You may write several drafts.

3. After completing a story of about 50 to 70 words, edit it down to 50 words.

The following may be titles of mini-sagas. Choose one then write a mini-saga about it. Include as many partitives, collectives and quantifiers you could use. Remember the grammar rules that you’ve learned so far. One Incredible Woman Pipip is Missing Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth I Made a Mistake Temporarily Down He Doesn’t Smile Anymore It’s Blue

Task 10: Write a mini-saga on any topic of your own choice. Read it to the class.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rubric for a mini-saga:
Use this rubric to evaluate a mini-saga.
|Elements |Very Good |Good |Needs Improvement |
| |3 points |2 points |1 point |
|character | | | |
|setting | | | |
|plot | | | |
|conflict | | | |
|theme | | | |
|TOTAL | | | |

References:

Azar, B. (1999). Understanding and using English grammar. New York: Longman.

Celce-Murcia, M. and Larsen-Freeman, D. (1998). The grammar book.NY.: Heinle and Heinle Pub.

Swan, M. and Walter, C. (1993). The new Cambridge English course. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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