Nominalisation

Year 9 English
Language Conventions
Lesson 6
Nominalisation
• To ‘nominalise’ a word, you take a verb or adjective and turn it into a noun by changing the
suffix of the word.
• This is a common feature of more formal writing, such as academic writing and essay writing.
• It is something people do far less frequently in informal speech.
• Nominalizations are easy to locate because they usually (but not always) end in the following
ways: -ing, -ion, -ment, and -ance.

E.g. Instead of:

This information enables us to formulate precise questions.

we would write:

This information enables the formulation of precise questions.

 Verb Nominalisation

reproduce reproduction

adapt adaptation

contract contraction

expand expansion
react reaction
rotate rotation
When to Use Nominalisation
• Nominalisation is an important feature of academic writing. It adds
variety, objectivity and an impersonal tone to texts.
• Nominalisation also makes writing more reader-friendly and concise
by allowing writers to pack a great deal of information into sentences.
Abstract Nouns
• Abstract nouns are opposed to concrete nouns.
• Abstract nouns are things you can’t touch or easily visualize (such as
“analysis” or “solution”).
• More often than not, when you nominalise a verb or adjective, you
will end up with an abstract noun.
Your Turn 1
Nominalise all of the verbs in the sentences below, turning them into
abstract nouns.

• I assessed your abilities to be above standard.

• The event ran on time.

• His chest expanded and contracted as he breathed.

When to Avoid Nominalisation
• Consider the examples below. Both sentences are grammatically correct, and yet the second one is clearer, more
direct, and concise.
• This is because the nominalizations have been turned back to active verbs.
• Nouns are less vivid than verbs, and sentences containing nouns strung together by linking verbs and forms of ‘to
be’ are often weaker and wordier sentences that slow readers down.

Nominalized Sentence

The refusal of the transportation authority and the union to reach an agreement on the new contract resulted in the cessation of
bus and train service on Monday.

Active Verb Sentence

On Monday, bus and train services ceased because the transportation authority and the union refused to agree on the new
contract.
Your Turn 2
• Rewrite the sentences below, changing the abstract nouns into active
verbs.

• Reproduction with variation is a major characteristic of life.

• This paper gives an analysis of the water problem and offers a solution.

Manipulating Information
• Besides making a text sound more formal, nominalisation can be used to obscure
the details in a situation.

Instead of:

We disagreed with one another.

we could write:

There was a disagreement.

Manipulating Information
Instead of:

I crashed my car

we could write:

My car was in an accident

• By removing active verbs and subjects, the context of a situation can become unclear.

• This method is used a lot in legal documents to avoid explicit blame.

Verbless Clauses
• A verbless clause is a clause which technically lacks a verb (and often a subject also).
• The omitted verb is typically a form of to be and is identifiable from the situational or
linguistic context. The verb is not present but implied.

e.g. Whether right or wrong, he always comes off worst in arguments.

• Here, the omitted verb can be identified, as in:
• Whether he is right or  wrong …

e.g. Book your tickets well in advance, whenever possible.

• The verb can be identified, as in: 
• whenever it is possible.
Your Turn 3
Identify the omitted verb in the bolded verbless clauses below:

While at University of Cape Coast, he was active in the society.

Too nervous to reply, he stared at the floor.

Hungry, Mary ate the food with joy.
Your Turn 4
Underline the verbless clauses in the following sentences:

• Taken daily, vitamin pills can improve your health.

• Not very happy with the results, he said nothing to Ama.

• You have to come to our party next Sunday, whether busy or not.
Your Turn 5
Re-write the following sentences so that they no longer contain verbless
clauses.

• Afraid, he ran away from the crime scene.

• His duty completed, he had three months’ leave.

• The long journey over, we relaxed in the warm sunshine.

• Whether here or not, his application will have to be considered.

Worksheets
• To consolidate your learning, complete the worksheets below:

• Abstract Nouns
• Nouns and Nominalisation