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

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.”

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

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.

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

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

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.”