C1 Advanced Academic tone
Nominalisation
Lesson goal. After this lesson you can nominalise verbs and adjectives to write concisely in an academic voice.
When to use it
- Compressing two clauses into one: The government's quick decision caused problems.
- Making the subject a concept rather than a loose action.
- The formal voice of essays, reports and research papers.
Form
| Suffix | Base | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| -tion / -sion | reduce · decide · expand | reduction · decision · expansion |
| -ment | develop · improve · achieve | development · improvement |
| -ance / -ence | important · different · appear | importance · difference · appearance |
| -ity | able · possible · similar | ability · possibility · similarity |
| -ure / -al / -th | fail · arrive · grow | failure · arrival · growth |
| irregular | analyse | analysis |
Step by step
- Find the main verb of the clause you want to compress.
- Turn it into its noun form using the suffix table.
- Turn any adverb into an adjective: quickly → quick.
- Combine into a noun phrase and use it as subject or object.
Before and after
| Ordinary | Nominalised |
|---|---|
| Prices increased, so people bought less. | The increase in prices reduced spending. |
| The population grew rapidly, which put pressure on schools. | Rapid population growth put pressure on schools. |
| Many students failed, and this worried the teachers. | The failure of many students worried the teachers. |
Examples
The analysis of the data revealed a clear pattern.
The government's quick decision caused problems.
Rapid population growth put pressure on schools.
The development of new technology has changed the industry.
The failure of many students worried the teachers.
The company's rapid expansion surprised analysts.
Common mistakes
The analyse of the data took two weeks. → The analysis of the data took two weeks.
After The you need a noun. analyse is a verb; its noun is analysis.
The develop of technology changed everything. → The development of technology changed everything.
develop → development.
The investigation of the examination of the implementation of the policy… → Investigating how the policy was implemented…
Over-nominalising makes prose heavy and unreadable. Good writing uses it in moderation.
Memory tip
Nominalisation is a tool, not a goal. Nominalise one idea per sentence; three or four in a row loses the reader.
Summary
- Turn verbs and adjectives into nouns to compress: decide → decision.
- Common suffixes: -tion, -ment, -ance, -ity, -ure, -al, -th.
- Use in moderation — too much becomes unreadable.
Practise this lesson
Do exercises with an explanation for every question, take mini tests and track your progress on GrammUp.