1. Turning verbs into nouns LO: Can I use nominalisation to give my writing more authority and formality?

2. Which has more formality? Why?
We walked for charity. We raised money for the Leukaemia Foundation.
The charity walk raised money for the Leukaemia Foundation.

3. “We walked for charity.” “The charity walk…”
Lots of writing you do in English uses nominalisations; the noun forms of verbs.
Nominalisation turns verbs (actions, events) into nouns (things, concepts, people).
The writing is no longer describing actions: it is focused on objects or concepts. Look at the example:
“We walked for charity.”
“The charity walk…”
The verb  ‘walked’ has been turned into ‘walk’.
The verb (the ‘doing’) was turned into a ‘thing’; a walk. Being able to do this makes you smarter as it helps you talk about ideas, not just actions and actual things.

4. Your turn: He was depressed. She achieved Level 7.
I had to explain myself.
Helen protested against the cuts.
Hugo discussed it with Jasper.
Arsenal and Tottenham hate each other.
I was so hungry.
Green can symbolise life and re-birth.
He had __________.
Her Level 7 was an __________.
They wanted an __________.
Helen went to an anti-cuts _________.
Jasper and Hugo had a __________.
The teams share a __________.
I was suffering from __________.
Green used to be a __________ of evil.

5. Find and nominalise the verbs, then create a sentence that makes sense using the noun form!
I loaded the car boot.
She loved her mother dearly.
They attacked him and hurt him.
I prayed all morning.
Her performance really affected the audience.

6. When to turn verbs into nouns…
When writing formally in English and in other subjects, nominalisation (changing verbs to nouns) can be very helpful to make your writing more academic and concise. Nominalisation allows you to discuss more abstract concepts by taking the focus off the action and making the action into a concept or idea.
Example:
“We analysed the data from the experiment, and it revealed that children react when they have too much sugar.”
Rewritten in nominalised form:
“The analysis of the data revealed children's reaction.”

7. Your turn! Choose 3 or 4 of the active verbs for analytical writing and create 3 or 4 sentences with them…
Advises
Describes
Highlights
Relates
Affects
Determines
Hints
Remarks
Alludes to
Displays
Illustrates
Represents
Argues
Encourages
Impacts
Reveals
Builds
Emphasises
Implies
Shows
Clarifies
Establishes
Indicates
Signifies
Confirms
Examines
Informs
Symbolises
Connotes
Exemplifies
Introduces
Suggests
Manifests
Supports
Constructs
Expands
Narrates
Typifies
Criticises
Explains
Persuades
Conveys
Explores
Portrays
Demonstrates
Exposes
Presents
Denotes
Foreshadows
Refers
Depicts
Foretells

8. Your turn… Can you turn the verbs into nouns and create similar sentences?
The author explores the theme of prejudice in her novel.
The first chapter introduces the setting of Camp Green Lake.
Alliteration emphasises the sub-heading.

9. Relation (relationship)
Here are the noun forms!
Advice
Description
Highlight
Relation (relationship)
Effect
Determination
Hint
Remark
Allusion
Display
Illustration
Representation
Argument
Encouragement
Impact
Revelation
Building
Emphasis
Implication
Show
Clarification
Establishment
Indication
Significant
Confirmation
Examination
Information
Symbol
Connotation
Exemplification
Introduction
Suggestion
Manifestation
Construction
Expansion
Support
Narration
Criticism
Explanation
Type
Persuasion
Conveyance
Exploration
Portrayal
Demonstration
Exposition
Presentation
Denotation
Foreshadowing
Reference
Depiction
Foretelling

11. The sky _____________ _____________.
The cliffs _____________ _____________.
The branch _____________ _____________.
“The floppy clocks represent a world without time.”

12. Which analytical sentences can you nominalise to give your writing more variety and authority?
“The floppy clocks are a representation of a world without time.”