Turning Verbs into Nouns

The company decided to expand. → The company made a decision to expand.

Notice

  • The company made a decision to expand. (decide → decision)
  • Researchers conducted an analysis of the data. (analyse → analysis)
  • The government announced an investigation into the incident. (investigate → investigation)
  • The proposal received strong support. (support (verb) → support (noun))

Rule

Nominalisation turns a verb (or adjective) into a noun, which is then often used with a ‘light verb’ like make, conduct, carry out, or reach. This is a hallmark of formal, academic, and report-style writing — it makes sentences feel more objective, dense, and impersonal (removing the ‘doer’ focus).

Practice

  1. Nominalise: ‘They decided to postpone the meeting.’
    Answer: They made a decision to postpone the meeting.
  2. Nominalise: ‘The team analysed the results carefully.’
    Answer: The team conducted a careful analysis of the results.
  3. Nominalise: ‘The company will invest in new technology.’
    Answer: The company will make an investment in new technology.
  4. Identify the noun form of ‘to fail’.
    Answer: Failure

Connect

Practise transforming verbs into formal nominalised phrases.

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CEFR: Writing — select a style appropriate to an academic or professional reader.

Azizul Hakim
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