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Nominalisation: from verbs to nouns
C1 C1 grammar · lesson 10 of 16
Academic and professional English often uses nouns where everyday English uses verbs. Learning nominalisation helps you write more formal, compact and objective texts.
What is nominalisation?
Nominalisation means expressing an action or quality with a noun instead of a verb or adjective. Compare:
| Verb-based (spoken style) | Noun-based (formal style) |
|---|---|
| Prices increased quickly, which worried people. | The rapid increase in prices caused concern. |
| The council decided to close the library. | The council’s decision to close the library… |
| Because the staff were unable to agree… | Because of the staff’s inability to agree… |
| We analysed the data carefully. | A careful analysis of the data was carried out. |
How it changes the sentence
- The verb becomes a noun: arrive → arrival, fail → failure, develop → development.
- The adverb becomes an adjective: quickly → rapid, carefully → careful.
- The subject or object often appears with of or a possessive: the city grew → the growth of the city / the city’s growth.
- A new, often general verb is needed: make, carry out, cause, lead to, result in, take place.
The introduction of the new system led to fewer errors.
There has been a sharp rise in the number of cyclists.
Mia’s refusal to compromise surprised everyone.
The closure of the factory resulted in high unemployment.
A reduction in waste is our main goal.
The importance of sleep is often underestimated.
Why use it – and when not to
Nominalisation lets you pack more information into fewer words and makes the text sound objective, because the person who did the action is often not mentioned. It also helps you connect sentences: The government cut taxes. This decision was popular.
However, too many nouns make writing heavy and hard to read. In emails to friends or in conversation, verbs are clearer and more natural. Use nominalisation mainly in essays, reports and formal letters.
Common mistakes
✗ There was a big increase of prices.
✓ There was a big increase in prices.
✗ The decide of the manager was final.
✓ The manager’s decision was final.
✗ The quickly development of the town…
✓ The rapid development of the town…
✗ His arrive surprised us.
✓ His arrival surprised us.