Short answer
Nominalisation is the process of turning a verb, adjective or larger idea into a noun or noun phrase. It is common in academic, legal and business English because it can make writing sound more formal, condensed and impersonal.
In S06E14, we explore examples such as allocate → allocation, differentiate → differentiation, justify → justification, implement → implementation, transmit → transmission and adhere → adherence.
Try this in your next lesson
Find or build the related noun.
👇 Scroll down for our practical checklist or activity and download.
Listen to the whole S06E14 discussion in our podcast episode guide here🔊.
One useful lesson immediately appears: there is no single magic suffix. Learners may notice lots of nouns ending in -ation, but English also gives us forms such as -ment, -ance, -ence, -ion and others. Word families need to be noticed and checked rather than guessed mechanically.
Nominalisation can also change the shape of a sentence. Compare The company implemented the policy quickly with The rapid implementation of the policy… The second version places the action inside a noun phrase. That can be useful when the writer wants to discuss the process or result as a thing.
This is one reason formal documents often feel dense. Several actions can be packaged as nouns and stacked together. Learners preparing for academic study, reports or formal business writing need to recognise that style, but they also need to know that more nominalisation does not automatically mean better writing.
A useful teaching approach is to move in both directions. Give learners a noun-heavy sentence and ask them to unpack it into verbs. Then give them a straightforward verb-based sentence and ask how a more formal version might look. The comparison makes the grammar meaningful.
Vocabulary teaching can support this by grouping word families: decide, decision, decisive; analyse, analysis, analytical; respond, response, responsive. Learners can then notice not only the noun form, but how the whole family behaves.
When is nominalisation useful?
It is especially useful for recognising and producing formal written English. It can help a writer refer back to an earlier process, organise information and reduce repeated personal subjects. But if every action becomes an abstract noun, the reader may have to work much harder.
Our suggested classroom adaptation of the episode discussion.
Gav and Em suggest: Verb it, noun it
Give learners these verbs: decide, improve, analyse, implement, respond.
- Find or build the related noun.
- Write one clear sentence with the verb.
- Rewrite it using the noun.
- Compare which version sounds more direct.
- Decide which version fits an email, report or academic paragraph better.
The aim is choice. Learners should be able to recognise formal nominalised English and use it when it helps, not stuff every sentence with nouns.
Answers and teacher guidance
Noun forms: decision, improvement, analysis, implementation, response. Example: We implemented the change quickly. The rapid implementation helped the team. Compare clarity and purpose rather than assuming the longer version is better.
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