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fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M14.234 10.162L22.977 0h-2.072l-7.591 8.824L7.251 0H.258l9.168 13.343L.258 24H2.33l8.016-9.318L16.749 24h6.993zm-2.837 3.299l-.929-1.329L3.076 1.56h3.182l5.965 8.532l.929 1.329l7.754 11.09h-3.182z\"\u002F>",{"id":47,"title":48,"author":49,"body":50,"cefrLevel":804,"date":49,"description":805,"exercises":806,"extension":879,"faqs":880,"gcseTier":49,"intro":49,"language":893,"lastUpdated":49,"meta":894,"navigation":895,"path":896,"seo":897,"stem":898,"verbSlugs":49,"__hash__":899},"pages\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fnominalisation.md","Nominalisation in English: arrive becomes arrival, decide becomes decision, and why written English turns actions into things",null,{"type":51,"value":52,"toc":794},"minimark",[53,86,101,106,109,247,284,288,291,297,320,337,362,396,412,418,432,435,439,450,453,460,480,484,513,587,590,601,605,608,719,723,726,753,779],[54,55,56,57,61,62,65,66,69,70,73,74,69,77,80,81,85],"p",{},"English has a machine for turning actions into things. Feed it ",[58,59,60],"em",{},"arrive"," and it\ngives you ",[58,63,64],{},"arrival",". Feed it ",[58,67,68],{},"destroy"," and it gives you ",[58,71,72],{},"destruction",". Feed it\n",[58,75,76],{},"decide",[58,78,79],{},"decision",". Grammarians call the machine\n",[82,83,84],"strong",{},"nominalisation",", and once you can see its output you will find it\neverywhere: in every news report, every scientific paper, every letter from a\ncompany that is about to disappoint you.",[54,87,88,89,92,93,96,97,100],{},"You already use it, whether you know the name or not. ",[58,90,91],{},"Make a decision",",\n",[58,94,95],{},"have a look",", ",[58,98,99],{},"reach an agreement"," - each of these is a verb that has been\nturned into a noun and propped up by a small, nearly meaningless verb. The\nquestions worth answering are how the forms are built, what the noun does to\nthe rest of the sentence, and when you should run the machine in reverse.",[102,103,105],"h2",{"id":104},"the-suffixes-history-not-logic","The suffixes: history, not logic",[54,107,108],{},"There is no rule that predicts which suffix a verb takes. There are only\nfamilies, and membership was decided centuries ago.",[110,111,112,125],"table",{},[113,114,115],"thead",{},[116,117,118,122],"tr",{},[119,120,121],"th",{},"Suffix",[119,123,124],{},"Verb → noun",[126,127,128,150,168,186,201,216,231],"tbody",{},[116,129,130,136],{},[131,132,133],"td",{},[58,134,135],{},"-tion\u002F-sion",[131,137,138,96,141,96,144,96,147],{},[58,139,140],{},"decide → decision",[58,142,143],{},"destroy → destruction",[58,145,146],{},"explain → explanation",[58,148,149],{},"discuss → discussion",[116,151,152,157],{},[131,153,154],{},[58,155,156],{},"-ment",[131,158,159,96,162,96,165],{},[58,160,161],{},"agree → agreement",[58,163,164],{},"move → movement",[58,166,167],{},"announce → announcement",[116,169,170,175],{},[131,171,172],{},[58,173,174],{},"-al",[131,176,177,96,180,96,183],{},[58,178,179],{},"arrive → arrival",[58,181,182],{},"refuse → refusal",[58,184,185],{},"propose → proposal",[116,187,188,193],{},[131,189,190],{},[58,191,192],{},"-ance\u002F-ence",[131,194,195,96,198],{},[58,196,197],{},"perform → performance",[58,199,200],{},"prefer → preference",[116,202,203,208],{},[131,204,205],{},[58,206,207],{},"-ure",[131,209,210,96,213],{},[58,211,212],{},"fail → failure",[58,214,215],{},"press → pressure",[116,217,218,223],{},[131,219,220],{},[58,221,222],{},"-th",[131,224,225,96,228],{},[58,226,227],{},"grow → growth",[58,229,230],{},"die → death",[116,232,233,236],{},[131,234,235],{},"no change",[131,237,238,96,241,96,244],{},[58,239,240],{},"change → a change",[58,242,243],{},"hope → a hope",[58,245,246],{},"need → a need",[54,248,249,250,96,253,92,256,259,260,263,264,267,268,271,272,275,276,279,280,283],{},"Adjectives feed the machine too: ",[58,251,252],{},"weak → weakness",[58,254,255],{},"able → ability",[58,257,258],{},"free → freedom",". And note the pairs that shift their spelling or sound on the\nway through - ",[58,261,262],{},"decide\u002Fdecision"," loses its ",[58,265,266],{},"d"," sound, ",[58,269,270],{},"explain\u002Fexplanation","\nmoves its stress. The only reliable strategy is the one you use for irregular\npast forms: learn the noun ",[82,273,274],{},"with"," the verb, as one item. A learner who knows\n",[58,277,278],{},"refuse"," but guesses ",[58,281,282],{},"refusement"," has learned half a word.",[102,285,287],{"id":286},"what-the-noun-does-to-the-sentence","What the noun does to the sentence",[54,289,290],{},"Nominalisation is not just word-building. It rebuilds the whole sentence\naround itself, and it changes three things.",[54,292,293,296],{},[82,294,295],{},"The actor can disappear."," A verb demands a subject: somebody destroys,\nsomebody decides. A noun demands nothing.",[298,299,300,311],"ul",{},[301,302,303,310],"li",{},[58,304,305,306,309],{},"The army ",[82,307,308],{},"destroyed"," the bridge."," (the army is named)",[301,312,313,319],{},[58,314,315,316,318],{},"The ",[82,317,72],{}," of the bridge took an hour."," (by whom? the sentence\nhas stopped saying)",[54,321,322,323,328,329,332,333,336],{},"This is the same vanishing trick as the\n",[324,325,327],"a",{"href":326},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpassive-voice","passive voice",", performed with different\ntools, and officials use both for the same reason: ",[58,330,331],{},"mistakes were made"," and\n",[58,334,335],{},"the making of mistakes"," each dodge the question of who made them.",[54,338,339,342,343,96,346,96,349,92,352,96,355,96,358,361],{},[82,340,341],{},"A weak verb moves in."," Once the action is a noun, the sentence still needs\na verb, so English supplies a nearly empty one: ",[58,344,345],{},"make",[58,347,348],{},"have",[58,350,351],{},"give",[58,353,354],{},"take",[58,356,357],{},"reach",[58,359,360],{},"come to",".",[298,363,364,372,380,388],{},[301,365,366],{},[58,367,368,369,371],{},"decide → ",[82,370,345],{}," a decision",[301,373,374],{},[58,375,376,377,379],{},"discuss → ",[82,378,348],{}," a discussion",[301,381,382],{},[58,383,384,385,387],{},"explain → ",[82,386,351],{}," an explanation",[301,389,390],{},[58,391,392,393,395],{},"agree → ",[82,394,357],{}," an agreement",[54,397,398,399,401,402,405,406,408,409,411],{},"These pairings are fixed and have to be learned: you ",[58,400,345],{}," a decision but\nyou cannot ",[58,403,404],{},"do"," one, you ",[58,407,348],{}," a look but you do not ",[58,410,351],{}," one to yourself.",[54,413,414,417],{},[82,415,416],{},"A whole event becomes a thing you can talk about."," This is the honest\npower of nominalisation, and the reason it exists. Package an event as a noun\nand it can be the subject of a new sentence, carrying everything with it:",[298,419,420,425],{},[301,421,422],{},[58,423,424],{},"They decided to close the hospital. This surprised nobody.",[301,426,427],{},[58,428,315,429,431],{},[82,430,79],{}," to close the hospital surprised nobody.",[54,433,434],{},"The second version is tighter, and it is the only comfortable way to hang an\nopinion on an event. Academic writing runs on this pattern, one sentence's\nclaim becoming the next sentence's subject.",[102,436,438],{"id":437},"why-formal-english-loves-it","Why formal English loves it",[54,440,441,442,445,446,449],{},"Put the three effects together and you can see why written English leans this\nway. Nouns hide actors, which suits anyone avoiding blame. Nouns compress,\nwhich suits anyone with a word limit. And nouns sound settled and objective -\n",[58,443,444],{},"the growth of the economy"," reads like a fact of nature, while ",[58,447,448],{},"the economy\ngrew"," reads like something somebody might argue with.",[54,451,452],{},"None of this is wrong. A page with no nominalisation at all reads like a\nchildren's book. The trouble starts when the habit runs unsupervised, and you\nget sentences where every action has been embalmed:",[298,454,455],{},[301,456,457],{},[58,458,459],{},"The implementation of the improvement of the system was the\nresponsibility of the team.",[54,461,462,463,96,466,92,469,472,473,476,477],{},"Nobody in that sentence does anything. Three actions (",[58,464,465],{},"implement",[58,467,468],{},"improve",[58,470,471],{},"be responsible",") have all been turned into furniture. In plain English: ",[58,474,475],{},"The\nteam was responsible for improving the system"," - or better, ",[58,478,479],{},"The team\nimproved the system.",[102,481,483],{"id":482},"running-the-machine-in-reverse","Running the machine in reverse",[54,485,486,487],{},"For speech, and for any writing that wants to be read once and understood,\nlearn to undo nominalisation on sight. The test: ",[82,488,489,490,96,493,96,495,498,499,501,502,96,504,92,506,96,508,498,510,512],{},"if the noun ends in\n",[58,491,492],{},"-tion",[58,494,156],{},[58,496,497],{},"-ance"," or ",[58,500,174],{},", and the verb beside it is ",[58,503,345],{},[58,505,348],{},[58,507,351],{},[58,509,354],{},[58,511,357],{},", try the plain verb.",[110,514,515,525],{},[113,516,517],{},[116,518,519,522],{},[119,520,521],{},"Embalmed",[119,523,524],{},"Alive",[126,526,527,539,551,563,575],{},[116,528,529,534],{},[131,530,531],{},[58,532,533],{},"We made an agreement.",[131,535,536],{},[58,537,538],{},"We agreed.",[116,540,541,546],{},[131,542,543],{},[58,544,545],{},"She gave an explanation of the delay.",[131,547,548],{},[58,549,550],{},"She explained the delay.",[116,552,553,558],{},[131,554,555],{},[58,556,557],{},"They had a discussion about the plan.",[131,559,560],{},[58,561,562],{},"They discussed the plan.",[116,564,565,570],{},[131,566,567],{},[58,568,569],{},"He expressed a refusal to sign.",[131,571,572],{},[58,573,574],{},"He refused to sign.",[116,576,577,582],{},[131,578,579],{},[58,580,581],{},"The team achieved an improvement in sales.",[131,583,584],{},[58,585,586],{},"The team improved sales.",[54,588,589],{},"Undoing the noun forces a second, healthy question: who is doing this? The\nverb needs a subject, so the hidden actor has to come back. That is exactly\nwhy officials prefer the noun, and exactly why your reader prefers the verb.",[54,591,592,593,596,597,600],{},"Keep the noun when the event itself is your topic (",[58,594,595],{},"The decision was\nunpopular","), when the actor genuinely does not matter (",[58,598,599],{},"the arrival of\nspring","), or when you are writing in a register that expects it. Drop it when\na plain verb says the same thing in fewer words, which in speech is nearly\nalways.",[102,602,604],{"id":603},"common-mistakes","Common mistakes",[54,606,607],{},"Ranked by how often learners actually make them.",[609,610,611,626,646,670,686,699],"ol",{},[301,612,613,616,617,96,620,96,623,625],{},[82,614,615],{},"Inventing the form."," ",[58,618,619],{},"Destroyment",[58,621,622],{},"arrivation",[58,624,282],{}," - the\nmachine does not take requests. Each verb's noun is fixed and has to be\nlearned with the verb.",[301,627,628,631,632,634,635,498,637,639,640,642,643,645],{},[82,629,630],{},"The wrong weak verb."," You ",[58,633,345],{}," a decision, not ",[58,636,404],{},[58,638,354],{}," one (in\nBritish English); you ",[58,641,348],{}," a discussion, not ",[58,644,345],{}," one. The pairings are\ncollocations, not grammar, and dictionaries list them.",[301,647,648,616,651,654,655,659,660,662,663,669],{},[82,649,650],{},"The missing article.",[58,652,653],{},"We made decision"," fails at\n",[324,656,658],{"href":657},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Farticles","articles",", because ",[58,661,79],{}," is a countable\nnoun: ",[58,664,665,666,668],{},"we made ",[82,667,324],{}," decision",". The abstract look of these nouns tricks\nlearners into treating them all as uncountable.",[301,671,672,616,675,678,679,682,683,685],{},[82,673,674],{},"Chains of of.",[58,676,677],{},"The implementation of the improvement of the system"," -\ntwo nominalisations joined by ",[58,680,681],{},"of"," is a sign to stop and find the verbs\nagain. One ",[58,684,681],{}," is normal; two is a warning; three is a hostage note.",[301,687,688,616,691,694,695,698],{},[82,689,690],{},"Nominalising your speech.",[58,692,693],{},"I gave him an explanation of my refusal","\nsounds like a witness statement. In conversation: ",[58,696,697],{},"I explained why I said\nno."," Register matters more than correctness here.",[301,700,701,616,704,707,708,710,711,714,715,361],{},[82,702,703],{},"Confusing the -ing form with the noun.",[58,705,706],{},"Arriving"," and ",[58,709,64],{}," can\nboth act as nouns, but they are not interchangeable: ",[58,712,713],{},"the arriving of the\ntrain"," is wrong, and the difference between gerund and derived noun is\ncovered in ",[324,716,718],{"href":717},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fgerund-and-infinitive","gerund and infinitive",[102,720,722],{"id":721},"practice","Practice",[54,724,725],{},"Rewrite each sentence with a plain verb instead of the noun. Answers are\nbelow.",[609,727,728,733,738,743,748],{},[301,729,730],{},[58,731,732],{},"They reached an agreement about the price.",[301,734,735],{},[58,736,737],{},"She gave a clear explanation of the rules.",[301,739,740],{},[58,741,742],{},"The committee made a decision to wait.",[301,744,745],{},[58,746,747],{},"We had a long discussion about the garden.",[301,749,750],{},[58,751,752],{},"His refusal of the offer was a surprise to everybody.",[54,754,755,758,759,762,763,766,767,770,771,774,775,778],{},[82,756,757],{},"Answers:"," 1. ",[58,760,761],{},"They agreed about the price."," 2. ",[58,764,765],{},"She explained the rules\nclearly."," 3. ",[58,768,769],{},"The committee decided to wait."," 4. ",[58,772,773],{},"We discussed the garden for\na long time."," 5. ",[58,776,777],{},"He refused the offer, which surprised everybody"," (undoing\none noun exposed the second: surprise was hiding too).",[54,780,781,782,784,785,788,789,791,792,361],{},"Nominalisation is one of two great actor-hiding devices in English; the other\nis the ",[324,783,327],{"href":326},", and formal prose\nusually runs both at once. For the borderline between ",[58,786,787],{},"-ing"," forms and true\nnouns, see ",[324,790,718],{"href":717},",\nand for the small words these heavy nouns still cannot escape, see\n",[324,793,658],{"href":657},{"title":795,"searchDepth":796,"depth":796,"links":797},"",2,[798,799,800,801,802,803],{"id":104,"depth":796,"text":105},{"id":286,"depth":796,"text":287},{"id":437,"depth":796,"text":438},{"id":482,"depth":796,"text":483},{"id":603,"depth":796,"text":604},{"id":721,"depth":796,"text":722},"B2-C1","How English turns verbs into nouns - arrival, destruction, decision, agreement - what the noun does to the rest of the sentence, why formal and written English prefers it, and when to undo it so that people can understand you.",[807,833,853],{"type":808,"instructions":809,"options":810,"items":816},"which-one","Choose the noun that belongs to each verb.",[79,64,72,811,812,813,814,815],"agreement","failure","growth","explanation","refusal",[817,819,821,823,825,827,829,831],{"prompt":818,"answer":79},"decide → ___",{"prompt":820,"answer":64},"arrive → ___",{"prompt":822,"answer":72},"destroy → ___",{"prompt":824,"answer":811},"agree → ___",{"prompt":826,"answer":812},"fail → ___",{"prompt":828,"answer":813},"grow → ___",{"prompt":830,"answer":814},"explain → ___",{"prompt":832,"answer":815},"refuse → ___",{"type":834,"instructions":835,"items":836},"fill-blank","Write the noun form of the verb in brackets.",[837,839,841,843,845,847,849,851],{"prompt":838,"answer":64},"Her sudden ___ surprised everybody. (arrive)",{"prompt":840,"answer":811},"We reached an ___ after two hours. (agree)",{"prompt":842,"answer":814},"He could give no ___ for the missing money. (explain)",{"prompt":844,"answer":72},"The ___ of the old bridge took three days. (destroy)",{"prompt":846,"answer":79},"It was a hard ___, but somebody had to make it. (decide)",{"prompt":848,"answer":812},"The plan ended in complete ___. (fail)",{"prompt":850,"answer":815},"His quiet ___ to sign ended the meeting. (refuse)",{"prompt":852,"answer":813},"The ___ of the town has been slow but steady. (grow)",{"type":854,"instructions":855,"pairs":856},"match","Match each heavy noun phrase to the plain verb that says the same thing.",[857,859,862,865,868,871,873,876],{"left":858,"right":76},"make a decision",{"left":860,"right":861},"come to an agreement","agree",{"left":863,"right":864},"give an explanation","explain",{"left":866,"right":867},"make an announcement","announce",{"left":869,"right":870},"have a discussion","discuss",{"left":872,"right":468},"make an improvement",{"left":874,"right":875},"give a performance","perform",{"left":877,"right":878},"make a complaint","complain","md",[881,884,887,890],{"q":882,"a":883},"What is nominalisation in English?","Nominalisation is turning a verb or an adjective into a noun: arrive becomes arrival, destroy becomes destruction, decide becomes decision, weak becomes weakness. The action stops being something that happens in the sentence and becomes a thing the sentence talks about. Formal and academic English does it constantly: the city was destroyed becomes the destruction of the city.",{"q":885,"a":886},"Is there a rule for which suffix a verb takes?","No usable one. Decide takes -sion, agree takes -ment, arrive takes -al, fail takes -ure, grow takes -th, and nothing about the verbs tells you which. The suffixes are history, not logic. Learn the noun together with the verb as one item - decide\u002Fdecision, refuse\u002Frefusal - the way you learn irregular past forms.",{"q":888,"a":889},"Why does formal English prefer nouns to verbs?","Three reasons. A noun can hide the actor: the destruction of the bridge does not say who destroyed it, which suits officials. A noun packs a whole event into the subject of a new sentence, so you can comment on it: The decision to close the line surprised nobody. And nouns sound finished and objective, which is why science and law lean on them. All three powers are also the reason nominalised prose is hard to read.",{"q":891,"a":892},"When should you avoid nominalisation?","In speech, and in any writing that wants to be understood at first reading. If the noun ends in -tion or -ment and the verb next to it is make, have, give or reach, the plain verb is nearly always better: made an agreement is agreed, gave an explanation is explained. Undo the noun, find the actor, and the sentence gets shorter and clearer at the same time.","english",{},true,"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fnominalisation",{"title":48,"description":805},"english\u002Fgrammar\u002Fnominalisation","vSt7PsG7eeEp5E8UyV9NKQ6f9zds_pCKkM844joa6dM",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":901},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M13 21h8M15 5l4 4m2.174-2.188a1 1 0 0 0-3.986-3.987L3.842 16.174a2 2 0 0 0-.5.83l-1.321 4.352a.5.5 0 0 0 .623.622l4.353-1.32a2 2 0 0 0 .83-.497z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":903},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M11 4.702a.705.705 0 0 0-1.203-.498L6.413 7.587A1.4 1.4 0 0 1 5.416 8H3a1 1 0 0 0-1 1v6a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h2.416a1.4 1.4 0 0 1 .997.413l3.383 3.384A.705.705 0 0 0 11 19.298zM16 9a5 5 0 0 1 0 6m3.364 3.364a9 9 0 0 0 0-12.728\"\u002F>"]