What is "partitive"

Partitive \Par"ti*tive\, a. [Cf. F. partitif.] (Gram.) Denoting a part; as, a partitive genitive.

Partitive \Par"ti*tive\, n. (Gram.) A word or phrase expressing partition, or denoting a part; as, the phrase ``of the team'' in ``half of the team''.

late 14c., "having the quality of dividing into parts," from Late Latin partitivus, from Latin partitus, past participle of partire "to divide" (see part (v.)).

a. 1 that divides something into parts 2 (context grammar English) indicating a part rather than the whole of something; e.g. some n. (context grammar English) a partitive word, phrase or case

1. adj. (Romance languages) relating to or denoting a part of a whole or a quantity that is less than the whole; "a partitive construction"

2. indicating or characterized by or serving to create partition or division into parts; "partitive tendencies in education"

3. serving to separate or divide into parts; "partitive tendencies in education"; "the uniting influence was stronger than the separative" [syn: separative]

4. n. word (such a `some' or `less') that is used to indicate a part as distinct from a whole

In linguistics, the partitive is a word, phrase, or case that indicates partialness. Nominal partitives are syntactic constructions, such as "some of the children", and may be classified semantically as either set partitives or entity partitives based on the quantifier and the type of embedded noun used. Partitives should not be confused with quantitatives (also known as pseudopartitives), which often look similar in form, but behave differently syntactically and have a distinct meaning.

Languages

Nominal partitive

English

three of my friends

Catalan

tres dels meus amics

Spanish

tres de mis amigos

French

trois de mes amis

Italian

tre dei miei amici

Dutch

drie van mijn vrienden

In many Romance and Germanic languages, nominal partitives usually take the form:

[ Det. + of + [ Det. + NP]]

where the first determiner is a quantifier word, using a prepositional element to link it to the larger set or whole from which that quantity is partitioned. The partitive constructions of the following languages all have the same translation, with a very similar form:

Some languages, for example Estonian and Finnish, have a special partitive case. In Latin, German and Russian, the partitive is expressed by the genitive case, sometimes called the partitive genitive.