Of course. Here is a detailed explanation of nominalisation.
What is Nominalisation?
Nominalisation (or nominalization) is the process of forming a noun from a
verb or an adjective.
In simpler terms, it's when you turn an action (a verb) or a description (an
adjective) into a thing (a noun) or a concept.
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Why Use Nominalisation?
Nominalisation is a key feature of formal, academic, and professional
writing. It serves several important purposes:
1. Formality and Objectivity: It makes writing sound more formal and less
personal by removing the "actor" (the subject).
· Informal: The researchers analysed the data, and this proved their
theory.
· Formal: The analysis of the data provided proof of their theory.
2. Conciseness (Brevity): It allows you to pack more information into fewer
words.
· Wordy: The committee decided to amend the policy, and this was
implemented quickly.
· Concise: The committee's decision to amend the policy was
implemented quickly.
3. Academic "Voice": It is common in academic writing to discuss concepts,
theories, and processes as abstract "things."
· Simple: The economy grew significantly.
· Academic: Significant economic growth was observed.
4. Text Cohesion: It helps to summarise information from a previous
sentence or clause, creating a smoother flow.
· Choppy: The company restructured its departments. This was disruptive
but ultimately led to greater efficiency.
· Smooth: The company's departmental restructuring was disruptive but
ultimately led to greater efficiency.
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How to Form Nominalisations
There are common suffixes (endings) that are added to verbs and
adjectives to create nouns.
From Verbs to Nouns
Verb Suffix Noun
to arrive -al arrival
to refuse -al refusal
to decide -ion/-sion/-tion decision
to admire -ation admiration
to adjust -ment adjustment
to fail -ure failure
to react -ance/-ence reaction
to employ -ment employment
to know -ledge knowledge
From Adjectives to Nouns
Adjective Suffix Noun
able -ity ability
different -ence difference
eager -ness eagerness
intelligent -ence intelligence
happy -ness happiness
weak -ness weakness
accurate -cy accuracy
Sometimes, the word changes more significantly (e.g., to see -> sight, to
speak -> speech).
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Examples in Sentences
Let's see how nominalisation changes the style of a sentence.
Example 1:
· Without Nominalisation (Verbs): The team collaborated effectively, so the
project was completed ahead of schedule.
· With Nominalisation (Nouns): The team's effective collaboration led to the
project's early completion.
Example 2:
· Without Nominalisation (Adjective): The patient was anxious, and this
affected their recovery.
· With Nominalisation (Noun): The patient's anxiety affected their recovery.
Example 3:
· Without Nominalisation: The government intervened in the economy, and
this caused a lot of confusion.
· With Nominalisation: The government's intervention in the economy
caused widespread confusion.
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A Word of Caution: The Downside
While powerful, overusing nominalisation can make your writing:
· Wordy and Bureaucratic: "The undertaking of a review of the
implementation process..." is worse than "We will review how we
implement the process."
· Impersonal and Hard to Read: Too many abstract nouns can distance the
reader and make the text dense.
· Weak: Verbs are the engine of a sentence. Replacing all strong verbs with
nouns and weak verbs (like "is," "has," "leads to") can make prose flabby.
Good writing often finds a balance between the directness of verbs and
the formal conciseness of nominalisations.
Summary
Aspect Description
What it is Turning verbs/adjectives into nouns.
Purpose To make writing more formal, concise, objective, and academic.
How it's done By adding suffixes like -tion, -ment, -ity, -ness, -al.
Good for... Academic papers, reports, official documents.
Use with care Can lead to wordy, impersonal, and confusing text if
overused.
