NOMINALISATION NOTES WHAT IS NOMINALISATION? Nominalisation is the process of turning verbs (action words) into nouns (things, people, feelings and concepts). It is a useful tool in essay writing that helps create a more objective, formal tone. It also helps make your writing concise and easier to grasp by conveying the same information in fewer words. Let’s look at an example: Sentence Shakespeare portrays Macbeth to be reckless in order to demonstrate the dangers of overambition Nominalised Sentence Shakespeare’s portrayal of a reckless Macbeth demonstrates the dangers of overambition. Note that in our nominalised sentence: We can convey the same information in fewer words The main idea of the sentence is the portrayal rather than Shakespeare himself, helping emphasise the idea that you are writing about. We are speaking in a much more formal register PROCESS OF NOMINALISATION Nominalisation has two main steps: 1) Changing the focus from a verb to noun 2) Rearranging the sentence CHANGING THE FOCUS FROM A VERB TO A NOUN In order to change verbs to nouns, we often must add a suffix. Below are some examples of common suffixes that you may use. Examples: Change the following verbs into nouns. a) b) c) d) e) f) Write Converse Run Establish Wreck Free REARRANGING THE SENTENCE Often when we change a verb into a noun, we need to rearrange the sentence around it in order for it to make grammatical sense. We often move the newly formed noun to the front of the sentence to further accentuate it as the focus of our sentence. EXAMPLES Practice Question: Nominalise the following: a) This information enables us to formulate precise questions. Step 1: Changing the focus from a verb to a noun In this case, we would change the focus “formulate” into the noun “formulation” Step 2: Rearranging the sentence Now, we need to rearrange the sentence so that it makes sense. e.g. This information enables the formulation of precise question. If we wanted to take this one step further, we could make the “formulation” part of the sentence the focus. e.g. The formulation of precise questions was enabled by this information. b) Miss Lauren helped the environment by proposing that we should recycle scrap paper. Step 1: Changing the focus from a verb to a noun In this case, we would change the focus “proposing” into the noun “proposal” Step 2: Rearranging the sentence Now, we need to rearrange the sentence so that it makes sense Miss Lauren helped the environment through her proposal that we should recycle paper WE can take this one step further, by making the “proposal” the focus Miss Lauren’s proposal to recycle scrap paper, helped the environment. c) Individuals who develop personal relationships are able to establish a deep sense of belonging. Step 1: Changing the focus from a verb to a noun In this case, we would change the focus “develop” into the noun “development” Step 2: Rearranging the sentence Now, we need to rearrange the sentence so that it makes sense Miss Lauren helped the environment through her proposal that we should recycle paper WE can take this one step further, by making the “proposal” the focus Miss Lauren’s proposal to recycle scrap paper, helped the environment.
