Partitive Expressions with Uncountable Nouns
This is a list of one hundred partitive expressions containing a partitive + uncountable noun, each with an example sentence. The expressions are in alphabetical order based on the uncountable noun.
See also: the grammar of partitives and uncountable nouns
| partitive expression | example sentence |
|---|---|
| a torrent of abuse | The manager was so angry that he let loose a torrent of abuse at his workers. |
| a piece of advice | Can I offer you a piece of advice about investing your savings? |
| a fit of anger | Harry slapped his girlfriend in a fit of anger. |
| a work of art | Everyone says her garden’s a work of art, it’s so beautiful. |
| a rasher of bacon | How many rashers of bacon would you like with your breakfast? |
| a glass of beer | The police wanted to know how many glasses of beer he had drunk. |
| a drop of blood | There were two or three drops of blood on the carpet. |
| a spot of bother | I’m in a spot of bother because I can’t find my car keys, and I’m already late. |
| a loaf of bread | How much does a loaf of bread cost in Japan? |
| a pat of butter | Could I have three pats of butter and some jam, please? |
| a game of chess | We played three games of chess, and Bobby won all of them. |
| a bar of chocolate | If you’re a good boy, I’ll give you a bar of chocolate. |
| an item of clothing | Put any items of clothing you no longer need into this box. |
| a lump of coal | The kids found some lumps of coal beside the railway tracks, and took them home. |
| a cup of coffee | The first thing I do when I get to work is have a cup of coffee. |
| an ear of corn | Ears of corn are usually steamed or boiled and then served with butter. |
| a scrap of difference | Writing letters to corrupt politicians won’t make a scrap of difference to the way they behave. |
| a speck of dust | They have no kids, and you won't find a speck of dust in their home. |
| a scrap of evidence | There wasn’t a scrap of evidence to prove he’d done it, but he was still sent to jail for life. |
| an item of expenditure | You must have a receipt for every item of expenditure you want to claim. |
| an article of faith | Freedom of expression is an article of faith among truly democratic people. |
| a morsel of food | There wasn’t a morsel of food left in the house, so we had to go out for dinner. |
| a breath of fresh air | The room was crowded and I felt faint so I went outside for a breath of fresh air. |
| a piece of fruit | Everyone should eat at least three pieces of fruit a day. |
| a bit of fun | After working hard all day, we felt like having a bit of fun. |
| a piece of furniture | We need a piece of furniture that will look good in that empty corner. |
| a clove of garlic | Take two cloves of garlic, crush them, and then add them to the soup. |
| a pane of glass | You have to be very careful when transporting panes of glass. |
| a blade of grass | The ant walked all the way up the blade of grass, and then all the way down again. |
| a pang of guilt | When I saw my brother being punished for what I’d done, I felt a pang of guilt. |
| a lock of hair | He kept a lock of her hair in a small tin box with his other most precious possessions. |
| a jar of honey | She stuck her fingers into the jar of honey, and then slowly licked them clean. |
| a glimmer of hope | The president gave us a glimmer of hope when he promised to look into the issue. |
| a sense of humour | He lacks a sense of humour, and his laughter never sounds real. |
| a pang of hunger | I felt a pang of hunger, and knew it must be getting close to lunchtime. |
| a block of ice | How long do you think it’d take for this block of ice to melt? |
| a scoop of ice cream | You don’t really need three scoops of ice cream on your apple pie, do you? |
| a piece of information | There was an important piece of information missing from the report. |
| a plea of innocence | He maintained his plea of innocence, even though everyone said he was guilty. |
| a touch of irony | There was often a touch of irony in his voice when he spoke. |
| a jar of jam | If you leave a jar of jam open on the bench, the ants will find it. |
| a glass of juice | I’d like a glass of juice, but only if the juice is freshly squeezed. |
| an act of kindness | A simple act of kindness to a stranger is a wonderful thing. |
| a piece of land | My grandfather bought this piece of land over a hundred years ago. |
| a peal of laughter | We heard peals of laughter coming from her bedroom. |
| a ray of light | As dawn broke, rays of light rose from behind the mountains. |
| a flash of lightning | The sky was lit up by flashes of lightning. |
| a work of literature | Poems, plays, novels and short stories are all works of literature. |
| a stroke of luck | Was finding her there a stroke of luck, or did he know she’d be there? |
| a piece of luggage | You can carry one small piece of luggage onto the plane. |
| a case of measles | Was it really a case of measles, or another disease that looked like measles? |
| a slice of meat | Put one slice of meat into every sandwich, with some lettuce and tomato. |
| a dose of medicine | I was given a dose of medicine that tasted like liquid chalk. |
| a bottle of milk | Every morning the milkman would leave two bottles of milk on our doorstep. |
| a litre of milk | How many litres of milk do we need? |
| a piece of music | That was one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard! |
| an item of news | Who decides if something becomes an item of news, or not? |
| a litre of oil | How much does a litre of oil cost? |
| a coat of paint | The house did look better after a coat of paint. But really it needed two or three coats. |
| a piece of paper | I wrote his number on a piece of paper and slipped it into my wallet. |
| a crime of passion | His lawyer said it wasn’t premeditated murder, but a crime of passion. |
| a dab of perfume | A couple of dabs of perfume on my neck, and I was ready to go. |
| an abuse of power | Using falsified evidence to justify a war is a criminal abuse of power. |
| a shower of rain | We got caught in a shower of rain while walking to the station. |
| a sign of respect | In many cultures, bowing to someone is a sign of respect. |
| an act of revenge | He’d harmed many people in his life, so his murder was probably an act of revenge. |
| a bowl of rice | Would you like another bowl of rice? |
| a grain of rice | There wasn’t a single grain of rice left in the village. |
| a pile of rubbish | We found the bottles dumped in a pile of rubbish behind the factory. |
| a glass of rum | After drinking four or five glasses of rum, I felt sick. |
| a pinch of salt | Add two or three pinches of salt as the water is coming to the boil. |
| a plate of seafood | How many plates of seafood should we order for the party? |
| a sense of shame | I doubt he’s capable of feeling a sense of shame for what he’s done. |
| a minute of silence | There was a minute of silence before the game began. |
| a wall of silence | The fear of punishment created a wall of silence around the truth. |
| a night of sleep | I think I've had about three nights of sleep in the six weeks since our baby was born. |
| a cloud of smoke | After the riots, you could see clouds of smoke rising into the sky as buildings around the city burned. |
| a fall of snow | A heavy fall of snow left the whole landscape a glistening white. |
| a cake of soap | Talk about extravagant! She uses a new cake of soap each time she showers. |
| a feeling of sorrow | There was a feeling of sorrow in the room as everyone thought about what had happened. |
| a bowl of soup | As soon as we all sat down, she brought three big bowls of soup and three spoons. |
| a lump of sugar | The was a little jar on the table full of lumps of sugar. |
| a spoonful of sugar | How many spoonfuls of sugar do you like in your tea? |
| a ray of sunshine | Barry said his baby daughter was a little ray of sunshine in his life. |
| a cup of tea | Do you prefer a cup of tea with your breakfast, or a cup of coffee? |
| a game of tennis | It’s just a game of tennis, so I don’t know why you’re getting so upset! |
| a clap of thunder | The silence was shattered by two sudden, loud claps of thunder. |
| a moment of time | It was a moment of time that nobody who was there will ever forget. |
| a grain of truth | She said there wasn’t a grain of truth in her husband’s story. |
| an act of vengeance | The police suspected the fire had been deliberately lit as an act of vengeance. |
| an outbreak of violence | After years of injustice, outbreaks of violence were becoming more frequent. |
| a drop of water | The drop of water slowly grew, and then it fell from the tap. |
| a sign of wealth | The signs of wealth that took him fifty years to earn hardly seemed worth it. |
| an ear of wheat | The winning photograph is a close-up of a single ear of wheat. |
| a shot of whiskey | As soon as he sat down at the bar, Hunter downed a shot of whiskey. |
| a gust of wind | A gust of wind grabbed the kite and swept it into an acrobatic loop. |
| a glass of wine | Our waiter knocked over two glasses of wine as he tried to set down a plate. |
| a pearl of wisdom | After stroking his beard and smiling, the guru dispensed a pearl of wisdom to his followers. |
| a block of wood | Jam some blocks of wood behind its back wheels, or the truck will roll down the hill. |
| a ball of wool | It’s just a tangle of wool now, but it was a ball of wool before our kitten found it. |
| a day of work | The workers only get five or six dollars for a full day of work. |
Note that most of the above partitive expressions collocate strongly.