Nominalisation

1. Nominalisation.

Academic and technical writing tends to have a high proportion of nouns to verbs. This is called “nominalisation”. For example:

more verbs than nouns	more nouns than verbs
But quality is not sacrificed.	But there is no sacrifice of quality.
By studying on the Internet you can access a wealth of materials instantly.	Internet-based study provides instant access to a wealth of materials.
Students can communicate with their teachers easily...	The ease with which students can communicate with their teachers...
= 6 nouns, 7 verbs	= 10 nouns, 4 verbs

Nominalise these sentences by rewriting them, using the word given. You must not use more than six words. Do not change the word given.

For example:

She succeeded because she worked hard.
due to
Her ______________ work.
Her success was due to her hard work.

2. Noun modifiers.

Nouns can be used, like adjectives, to modify other nouns. For example:

education at a distance = distance education
a connection on the Internet by broadband = broadband Internet connection
boards for having discussions = discussion boards
rooms for chatting = chat rooms

The use of noun modifiers is one way of increasing the noun-verb ratio (see the previous exercise).

Use words from the two boxes to make noun + noun combinations for the definitions. Use one word from Box 1 and one word from Box 2 for each definition.

3. Making nouns.

Making nouns from verbs. Compare these two sentences:

If you burn fossil fuel less, carbon dioxide emissions will decrease.
Burning less fossil fuel means a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions.

Burning less fossil fuel means a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions. -ING + OBJECT means + NOUN

Rewrite the following sentences. The first sentences have been started for you. Check punctuation.

4. Verb forms: Imperatives and -ing form.

Look at these two sentences:

Use less hot water.

Use is a VERB in this sentence.

Using less hot water means lower carbon dioxide emissions.

Using is like a NOUN here.

Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets. You need to choose the correct form.

For more information about nominalisation see the Grammar Reference.