Nominalisation is the process of turning verbs and adjectives into nouns or noun phrases: decide → decision, increase → an increase in, important → importance. It is a hallmark of formal academic and professional writing, making text more concise, impersonal, and objective.
Exercises:
Exercise 1 (Easy). Identifying nominalisations
Nominalisation converts verbs or adjectives into noun phrases. Identify the correct nominalised form of the word in brackets.
Exercises:
1
There has been a significant ___ in unemployment. (reduce)
2
The government announced an ___ in public spending. (increase)
3
The ___ of the new policy was widely debated. (implement)
4
Her ___ to leave was influenced by personal reasons. (decide)
5
The report highlights the ___ of early intervention. (important)
6
The ___ of the merger took several months. (approve)
7
The study examines the ___ between poverty and health. (relate)
8
There was a clear ___ in standards. (deteriorate)
9
The committee reached a ___ on the budget. (agree)
10
The ___ of new technology has transformed the industry. (develop)
Nominalisation (C1)
Nominalisation creates noun phrases from verbs or adjectives. It is central to academic and professional writing because it is more concise and impersonal.
Common suffixes: verb → noun
decide → decision
implement → implementation
approve → approval
develop → development
agree → agreement
reduce → reduction
deteriorate → deterioration
refer → reference
Common suffixes: adjective → noun
important → importance
significant → significance
effective → effectiveness / efficacy
stable → stability
equal → equality
Key preposition patterns after nominalisations
→increase / rise / fall / decline / reduction + IN: a rise in unemployment
→effect / impact / influence + ON: the effect on productivity
→decision / agreement / failure / attempt + TO: a decision to merge
→cause / analysis / approval + OF: the approval of the plan
→need / reason / justification + FOR: a need for reform
→relationship / link / correlation + BETWEEN: a link between X and Y
Why nominalise? (academic register)
→Impersonal: 'A rise in prices occurred' vs 'Prices rose'
→Concise: 'Their failure to comply had consequences' vs 'Because they failed to comply, there were consequences'
→Allows modification: 'a sharp, unexpected rise in prices'
→Focuses on events/concepts rather than agents
Cause-effect nominalisation pattern
The increase in raw material costs led to a significant rise in production costs, resulting in a reduction in profit margins.
Note: verb → noun at every stage (increase, rise, reduction) + linking verbs (led to, resulting in).