Partitives for Uncountable Nouns

Partitives help you refer to individual examples or amounts of nouns that are normally uncountable in standard learner English. This exercise focuses on words such as advice, information, news, furniture, luggage, homework, evidence, feedback, and equipment. You cannot normally say "an advice", "two informations", or "many luggages". Instead, use a partitive: a piece of advice, two pieces of information, three pieces of luggage, or an item of furniture.

The main pattern is a / an or number + piece, item, bit, word, amount, or deal + of + uncountable noun. For one specific unit, "a piece of" is the most useful choice with advice, information, news, evidence, homework, feedback, and equipment. "An item of" is common with furniture and clothing. "A bit of" is informal for small amounts, while "a great deal of" and "a certain amount of" describe larger or less exact quantities. In exams, check the word after "of" carefully. Pluralise the partitive, not the uncountable noun.