partitive Hear it!

partitive Definition

par·ti·tive (pärt′ə tiv)

adjective

  1. used in setting off or separating; making a division
  2. Gram.
    1. referring to a part of a whole
    2. of or relating to a case expressing reference to a part of a whole

Etymology: ML partitivus: see partite & -ive

noun

  1. a partitive word or form
  2. the partitive case

partitive Related Forms

par′·ti·tively adverb

partitive Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • genitive: The noun being expressed in the context, or understood from it; also when followed by a temporal or partitive genitive.
  • article: In English, the partitive articles are " some " and " any " .
  • case: Things like " pluperfect " and " partitive case " mean absolutely nothing to someone who is not a linguistics scholar.