2.212 partitives with uncount nouns

When the noun after the partitive is an uncount noun, you can use count nouns such as 'bit', 'drop', 'lump', or 'piece', as the partitive.

• Here's a bit of paper.
• ...a drop of blood.
• ...a cobweb covered with little drops of dew.
• ...a tiny piece of material.
• ...a pinch of salt.
• ...specks of dust.

These partitives can be used without 'of' when it is obvious what you are talking about.

• He sat down in the kitchen before a plate of cold ham, but he had only eaten one piece when the phone rang.

Uncount nouns are explained in paragraphs 1.24 to 1.34.

2.213

Here is a list of partitives used with uncount nouns:

• amount of, bit of, blob of, clump of, dash of, drop of, grain of, heap of, knob of, lump of, mass of, morsel of, mountain of, piece of, pile of, pinch of, pool of, portion of, scrap of, sheet of, shred of, slice of, speck of, spot of, touch of, trace of

Some of these partitives are also used with plural nouns which refer to things which together form a mass.

• ...a huge heap of stones.
• ...a pile of materials.

Here is a list of partitives used with both uncount and plural nouns:

• amount, clump, heap, mass, mountain, pile, portion