Partitive Expressions

Knowledge of at least some fixed expressions from this category will help to make your speech more natural. Often, trying to find the equivalents of such expressions in the English language, we translate each word separately, which does not always bring the desired results, as many of them are stable in the English language, and combined with words alone can not completely be combined with others. Unfortunately, it is practically impossible to «guess» what is an expression is used, for this reason, like all English words, they should at least try to remember. There are several groups of expressions that are used for quantification. Most of them are used with uncountable nouns, but not only with them. These expressions are:

• Word calling capacity.
• Words used with uncountable nouns.
• Words used with abstract nouns.
• Words used with groups of objects or people.

Food and substances

tub of butter	pack of butter	can of Coke	can of Coke
packet of crisps	a packet of crisps	ounce of gold	an ounce of gold
loaf of bread	a loaf of bread	jar of jam	jar of jam
joint of meat	piece of meat	roll of cloth	roll of cloth
bunch of bananas / grapes	a bunch of bananas / grapes	carton of yogurt	cup of yogurt
keg of beer	keg of beer	ball of string	hank of gum
slice of ham / bread	a slice of ham / bread	sack of potatoes	a sack of potatoes
lump of sugar	cube of sugar	sheet of paper	paper
bar of chocolate	chocolate bar	cube of ice	ice Cube

Food and substances 2

pile of magazines	stack of magazines	bundle of banknotes	stack of bills
pile of sand	Sand Mountain	dozen of eggs	a dozen eggs
goblet of wine	goblet of wine	bale of hay	a stack of hay
bar of soap	soap bar	pad of paper	notebook
bottle of champagne	a bottle of champagne	tin of dog’s food	Bank of dog food
string of pearls	rope of pearls	barrel oil	barrel
crate of bottles	Box with bottles	box of matches	Matchbox

Small quantities

drop of water / blood / oil	a drop of water / blood / oil	scrap of paper	a piece of paper
ray of sunshine	a ray of sunshine	pinch of salt	a pinch of salt
speck of dust	speck, speck	hint of pepper / garlic	little pepper / garlic
breath of air	breath of air	gust of wind	wind gust
splinter of glass / wood	shard of glass / Sliver	pat of butter	pat of butter
grain of sand / rice	grain / risinka	crumb of bread	baby
shred of cloth / truth	Shred, klaptik / drop of truth	puff of smoke	puff
item of news	news	segment of orange	orange slice
clod of earth	clod of earth	square of chocolate	«Cube» of chocolate
flake of snow	snowflake	rasher of bacon / ham	rasher / ham

People

band of musicians	a group of musicians	team of hockey players	Team players
horde of nomads	a horde of nomads	panel of advisers	team of specialists
patrol of scouts	Boy Scout troop	gang of criminals	a gang of criminals
platoon of infantry soldiers	detachment of marines	assembly of worshippers	a group of admirers
circle of close friends	close friends	staff of teachers	Teaching Staff
squadron of bomber pilots	squadron	crowd of spectators	crowd of spectators
cavalry of horse riders	cavalry	cast of actors in a film	cast
mob of hooligans	a crowd of hooligans	party of holidaymakers	a crowd of tourists
crew of sailors	crew	troupe of travelling actors	wandering troupe of actors
cabinet of ministers	cabinet	board of directors	board of directors

Things

set of cutlery	cutlery set	bunch of flowers / keys	Bouquet / keychain
pack of playing cards	deck of playing cards	clump of grass	tuffet
quiver of arrows	quiver of arrows	tuft of hair	topknot
cluster of stars	cluster of stars	block of flats	multi-storey building
network of TV stations	Network television stations	plot of land	land
pile of books	stack of books	chain of restaurants	restaurant chain
row of chairs	a row of chairs	make of a car	car brand

Abstract nouns

fit of anger	fit of anger	piece of advice	advice
act of courage	courageous act	flurry of excitement	the rush of excitement
spot of trouble / bother	quandary	stroke of bad weather	«Seizure» of bad weather
branch of science / knowledge	discipline	wave of panic	wave of panic
pangs of conscience	remorse	pang of regret / anxiety	attack of remorse / alarm
shred of evidence	the slightest evidence	state of emergency	state of emergency
stroke of good / bad luck	success / failure; happy / unhappy accident	bout of drinking / flu	binge / bout of flu
stream of abuse	the flow of battle	pack of lies	pack of lies

Animals

brood of chickens	brood of chickens	flock of birds	a flock of birds
herd of elephants	herd of elephants	pack of wolves	pack of wolves
swarm of hornets	a swarm of wasps	herd of cattle	herd (cattle)
plague of locusts	Swarms of locusts	shoal of fish	school of fish
cloud / swarm of flies	a cloud of flies	stable of horses	stall horse
colony of ants	Family ants	hive of bees	hive
herd of sheep	flock of sheep	school of sharks / whales	pack of sharks / Whales
litter of puppies	litter of puppies	kennel of dogs	enclosure (box) with dogs

Of course, this list is not complete, but I hope that it will help you better understand these expressions, and a small test will help consolidate the material.

 

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Grammar