Nominalisation is the process of converting a word from another word class — typically a verb or adjective — into a noun. It is one of the most important stylistic features of academic, scientific and formal professional English. Instead of writing "the government decided to increase taxes", a formal text might read "the government's decision to increase taxes" or "the decision to raise taxation". The verb decide has become the noun decision. The effect is a more compact, objective and authoritative style.
Why Nominalisation Matters
Nominalisation serves several purposes in formal writing:
- Conciseness: A noun phrase can compress what would otherwise require a full clause. "The failure of the project caused alarm" vs "Because the project failed, people were alarmed."
- Objectivity: Nominalisations move attention from agents (who did something) to processes and states, creating an impersonal, objective tone preferred in academic prose.
- Cohesion: Nominalised forms allow writers to refer back to a process or event introduced in a previous clause: "Sales fell sharply. This decline was attributed to..."
- Information density: Noun phrases can carry multiple modifiers at once: "a rapid and unexpected deterioration in economic conditions".
From Verb to Noun: Common Suffixes
Many verbs are nominalised by adding a suffix. The most productive suffixes for verb-to-noun conversion are:
| Suffix |
Verb |
Noun |
Example sentence |
| -tion / -sion |
decide, produce, discuss |
decision, production, discussion |
The discussion lasted two hours. |
| -ment |
develop, achieve, improve |
development, achievement, improvement |
Significant improvement was noted. |
| -ance / -ence |
perform, rely, differ |
performance, reliance, difference |
A difference was observed. |
| -al |
arrive, propose, refuse |
arrival, proposal, refusal |
The proposal was accepted. |
| -ing |
train, manage, research |
training, management, research |
Research into this topic is ongoing. |
| -ure |
fail, expose, press |
failure, exposure, pressure |
Failure to comply results in a fine. |
| -er / -or |
investigate, regulate, instruct |
investigator, regulator, instructor |
The regulator imposed a penalty. |
From Adjective to Noun: Common Suffixes
Adjectives are also commonly nominalised. Key suffixes include:
| Suffix |
Adjective |
Noun |
Example |
| -ity / -ty |
complex, diverse, able |
complexity, diversity, ability |
The complexity of the problem... |
| -ness |
aware, effective, weak |
awareness, effectiveness, weakness |
Public awareness has increased. |
| -ance / -ence |
important, relevant, evident |
importance, relevance, evidence |
The importance of this cannot be overstated. |
| -ism |
optimistic, realistic |
optimism, realism |
A degree of optimism is justified. |
Nominalisation in Practice: Transforming Sentences
The key skill is recognising when a clause can be compressed into a noun phrase for a more formal effect:
- Informal: When the government decided to cut funding, universities were worried.
- Formal: The government's decision to cut funding caused concern among universities.
- Informal: Because the results were unexpected, the researchers had to reconsider their hypothesis.
- Formal: The unexpected nature of the results led to a reconsideration of the hypothesis.
- Informal: After they investigated the case, the police arrested two suspects.
- Formal: Following the investigation, two suspects were arrested.
When Not to Nominalise
Nominalisation can make text clearer and more concise in academic writing, but excessive nominalisation in everyday communication produces unnecessarily heavy, bureaucratic prose known as "nominese". If your text is becoming hard to read, revert to active verb constructions.
- Over-nominalised: The implementation of a decision-making framework for the facilitation of discussion necessitates consideration.
- Clearer: We need to consider how to set up a framework that helps people make decisions together.
Common Mistakes
1. Wrong suffix for the word class
✗ The developement of new technology has been rapid.
✓ The development of new technology has been rapid.
Spelling errors in nominalisations are common. Learn the exact spelling: develop → development (not developement); occur → occurrence; maintain → maintenance.
2. Missing article before a nominalised noun phrase
✗ Failure of the plan led to reconsideration of the strategy.
✓ The failure of the plan led to a reconsideration of the strategy.
Nominalised noun phrases are typically specific (use the) or unspecified countable (use a/an). Do not omit articles as you might in Chinese or Russian.
3. Nominalising a verb but keeping the original verb structure
✗ The decision to improve the situation were welcomed. (plural agreement error)
✓ The decision to improve the situation was welcomed.
When you nominalise, the head noun controls agreement. Decision is singular, so the verb is was, not were.
4. Over-nominalising in informal contexts
✗ (in a text message) The implementation of our plan for the facilitation of our meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow.
✓ Our meeting is planned for tomorrow.
Nominalisation is a formal register device. Match your language to the context — academic writing, reports and proposals benefit from it; personal communication does not.
Practice Exercises
See also: English Grammar Guide and Discourse Markers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is nominalisation in English grammar?
Nominalisation is the process of converting a verb, adjective or other word class into a noun. For example, the verb decide becomes the noun decision, the adjective complex becomes the noun complexity, and the verb improve becomes the noun improvement. The resulting noun is called a nominalisation (or nominal). Nominalisation is a central feature of academic, scientific and formal professional English, allowing writers to compress clauses into compact noun phrases and create an objective, impersonal style.
Why is nominalisation important in academic writing?
Nominalisation is important in academic writing for four main reasons. First, conciseness: a nominalised noun phrase can compress a whole clause into a few words ("the government's decision" instead of "the fact that the government decided"). Second, objectivity: nominalising a process (e.g. "the investigation") removes the agent and creates an impersonal tone suited to formal writing. Third, cohesion: nominalisations allow writers to refer back to events introduced in previous clauses. Fourth, information density: noun phrases can carry complex modifiers that would be cumbersome as clauses.
What are the most common nominalisation suffixes in English?
The most common suffixes for converting verbs to nouns are: -tion/-sion (decide → decision, produce → production), -ment (develop → development, achieve → achievement), -ance/-ence (perform → performance, rely → reliance), -al (arrive → arrival, propose → proposal), -ing (train → training, manage → management), -ure (fail → failure, expose → exposure). For adjectives to nouns: -ity/-ty (complex → complexity, able → ability), -ness (aware → awareness, weak → weakness), -ance/-ence (important → importance, evident → evidence). Learning these suffixes systematically is the most efficient way to build your nominalisation vocabulary.
How do I convert a sentence to use nominalisation?
The key steps are: (1) identify the main verb or adjective that carries the core meaning; (2) convert it to a noun using the appropriate suffix; (3) restructure the sentence so the nominalised noun phrase becomes the subject or object. Example: informal "The government decided to cut funding, which worried universities" → formal "The government's decision to cut funding caused concern among universities." Note: decide → decision (subject becomes possessive "government's"), worry → concern (verb becomes noun object). The result is more concise and formal.
Is nominalisation always better than using a verb?
No. Nominalisation is a formal register device, appropriate for academic essays, reports, proposals and scientific writing. In everyday communication, over-nominalisation creates bureaucratic, hard-to-read "nominese": "The implementation of a decision-making framework for the facilitation of discussion necessitates consideration" means simply "We need to think about how to help people make decisions together." Use nominalisations when you need formal conciseness and objectivity; revert to active verbs when clarity and directness are more important. Cambridge C1 and IELTS examiners value appropriate register, not nominalisation for its own sake.
What is the difference between a gerund and a nominalisation?
A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun: "Swimming is good for you." It behaves grammatically as a noun but retains verb-like properties — it can take objects and adverbs ("Swimming 50 lengths quickly"). A nominalisation typically uses a suffix other than -ing (decision, development, performance) and behaves fully as a noun — it takes articles, can be modified by adjectives and has its own plural forms (decisions, developments). Some -ing forms function as full nominalisations too (e.g. training, management, funding) and can take articles and plurals, which pure gerunds generally cannot ("the trainings" is usually wrong but "the training sessions" is fine).
How does nominalisation affect the use of articles?
When you nominalise, you create a noun phrase that requires correct article use — a frequent source of error. Specific nominalisations referring to a particular event or process take the definite article: "the decision", "the failure of the plan", "the development of the system". Non-specific countable nominalisations take the indefinite article: "a proposal was submitted", "an improvement was noted". Some nominalisations used in a general or uncountable sense take no article: "Management of risk is essential." Learning to apply articles correctly to nominalised forms is as important as learning the suffixes themselves.
Can nominalisations be used in speaking, or only in writing?
Nominalisations appear in formal spoken English too — academic lectures, business presentations, formal meetings and official speeches commonly use them. However, informal spoken English tends to prefer verb-based constructions. In a job interview or university seminar, saying "the implementation of the policy" is appropriate; in a conversation with friends, "how they put the plan into practice" is more natural. For Cambridge C1 and C2 speaking tests, examiners value appropriate register: use nominalisations in formal discussion tasks and IELTS Part 3, but do not force them into casual exchanges.
What are some commonly misspelled nominalisations?
Common spelling errors include: develop → development (not developement); occur → occurrence (double c, double r, -ence); maintain → maintenance (not maintainance); relevant → relevance (not relevenace); prefer → preference (not preferance); argue → argument (not arguement); judge → judgement or judgment (both accepted); know → knowledge (irregular); manage → management (not managment). The safest approach is to learn each nominalisation as a whole word rather than just adding a suffix mechanically, because spelling changes are common.
How do I practise nominalisation for Cambridge C1 and IELTS?
Focus on three areas. First, build a core vocabulary of 50-80 high-frequency nominalisations with their correct spellings and suffixes: cover -tion/-sion, -ment, -ance/-ence, -al, -ity/-ty, -ness. Second, practise sentence transformation: take informal verb-based sentences and rewrite them using nominalisations — check that articles, subject-verb agreement and word order are all correct. Third, in your writing tasks, deliberately include two or three nominalisations and check that each one has the correct article and is spelled accurately. Use LexFizz's Complete the Sentence and Cloze Dropdown exercises for in-context practice with immediate feedback.