accusativepartitive

Accusative partitive is a term used in linguistics to describe a pattern in which a noun phrase in the accusative case functions with a partitive interpretation. In such constructions the object does not denote the total object of the action, but rather a portion, subset, or non-total quantity of it. The reading arises from the interaction between case marking and semantic context, rather than from a dedicated partitive case alone.

The phenomenon has been observed in a limited range of languages with rich or flexible case systems. In those languages, the accusative form of a noun can carry more than a straightforward direct-object reading, taking on a partial or distributive sense when certain quantifiers, determiners, or aspects are present. It is often discussed in typology and theoretical syntax as a way to encode partitive meaning without inventing a separate morphological partitive case or using periphrastic constructions.

Semantically, the accusative partitive reading is typically triggered by indicators of partiality or non-totality, such as words equivalent to some, part of, a portion of, or by contexts involving negation or distributive readings. Syntactically, it may correlate with specific determiner phrases, numerals, or measure expressions that reinforce a partial interpretation, while the surface form remains the accusative object.

Notes and debates around accusative partitive focus on how robust the reading is across languages, how it interacts with mass versus count nouns, and how it relates to other partitive strategies such as genitive or dedicated partitive constructions. See also: accusative case, partitive case, partitive reading.