Nominalisation
Nominalisation turns processes and qualities into nouns, enabling abstraction and information packaging but potentially hiding agents and reducing clarity.
01 · Concept foundation
Understand the terms before applying the rule
Each term below names a different grammatical object. Open examples and compare their function rather than memorising a Vietnamese translation alone.
nominalisation/ˌnɒmɪnəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
danh hóaThe expression of a process or quality as a noun rather than a verb or adjective.
the expansion of the city; an increase in temperature
sự mở rộng của thành phố; sự tăng nhiệt độ
grammatical metaphor/ɡrəˈmætɪkəl ˈmetəfə/
ẩn dụ ngữ phápA shift in grammatical form that reconstrues experience, commonly turning actions into entities in academic language.
Researchers analysed → the analysis
Các nhà nghiên cứu phân tích → sự phân tích
agent suppression/ˈeɪdʒənt səˈpreʃən/
lược tác nhânThe reduction or omission of the actor responsible for a process.
The implementation of the policy...
Việc thực hiện chính sách...
Complete lesson scope
Do not stop at one formula
Deriving process, quality and agent nouns
Turning clauses into noun phrases
Academic information density and thematic control
Hidden agents, weak verbs and over-nominalisation
Decision boundary: Nominalisation is useful for packaging known information, but overuse can hide agency and reduce clarity.
02 · Controlling rule
Nominalisation turns a process, quality or relation into a noun phrase. It can create stable topics, connect back to an earlier proposition and compress technical information, but it also changes countability, article choice, preposition pattern and visibility of the agent. English academic prose uses nominalisation selectively; clear verbs are often better for actions and responsibility. Vietnamese việc and sự do not map automatically onto English nouns, so each English nominalisation must be checked as an established lexical item with its own grammar.
clause/process/quality → determiner + nominal head + complements/modifiersNominalisation: package processes without hiding the science
Transform selected processes and qualities into noun phrases for cohesion and information density while preserving agency, causality, countability and readable sentence structure.
Discourse purpose → recoverable actor → noun pattern → readability check
Nominalisation changes a process into a discourse entity. This can support cohesion and abstraction, but it can also hide who acted, weaken verbs and create dense strings of nouns.
Does the previous sentence already establish the process that should become the next topic?
Will nominalisation help connect ideas or merely make the sentence longer?
Is the actor scientifically or ethically important and therefore necessary to state?
What determiner, preposition, number and verb agreement does the new noun phrase require?
1. Build nominal forms accurately
Nominalisation can be created through suffixes, zero derivation or an -ing form. The resulting noun may have different countability and collocations from the original verb.
verb/adjective → derived noun | process → V-ing noun phraseCommon suffixes include -tion/-sion, -ment, -ance/-ence, -al, -ity and -ness, but spelling and stress may change.
Check the established noun rather than inventing a form: analyse → analysis, reliable → reliability.
An -ing nominal can name an activity, but it may remain more process-like than a derived abstract noun.
The expansion of the urban area increased runoff.
Sự mở rộng khu đô thị làm tăng dòng chảy mặt.
Expand becomes expansion; of introduces the entity that expanded.
Monitoring the inlet requires continuous observations.
Việc giám sát cửa biển đòi hỏi quan trắc liên tục.
Monitoring is an -ing nominal clause functioning as the subject while retaining a direct object.
Derived nominalisation
verb/adjective + nominal suffixName a process, result, state or quality.
expand → expansion
reliable → reliability
approve → approval
- Check spelling, stress and established usage in a reliable dictionary.
-ing nominal clause
V-ing + object/complementName an activity while retaining verbal complementation.
Monitoring water levels requires reliable sensors.
- The understood subject may need a possessive or explicit noun phrase in formal contexts.
Nominal argument structure
the NOMINALISATION of X by YRecover affected entity/content and actor.
the calibration of the model by the team
- Not every nominalisation uses the same preposition; learn collocations.
Thematic nominalisation
previous clause → this/the + nominalisation + finite verbTurn known information into the next sentence topic.
The coast retreated. This retreat exposed infrastructure.
- The nominalisation should summarize the previous process accurately.
Dynamic clause versus abstract entity
The city expanded rapidly.
The clause foregrounds actor/topic and process.
The rapid expansion of the city...
The noun phrase packages the process as an entity available for further comment.
Choose the clause for action and responsibility; choose the noun phrase for abstraction, cohesion or thematic continuity.
Useful density versus over-nominalisation
The team investigated why the structure failed.
A strong verb makes actor and action easy to process.
The team conducted an investigation into the failure of the structure.
The nominalised version is heavier and may be useful only if investigation is the discourse topic.
Prefer the shorter verb unless the noun has a real discourse function.
Hidden versus explicit agency
The authority delayed maintenance.
Responsibility is explicit.
The delay in maintenance...
The event is foregrounded, but the responsible actor disappears.
Do not hide agency when accountability matters.
Shared logic
Both languages can name processes and qualities as abstract entities, especially through Sino-derived vocabulary.
Structural difference
Vietnamese often uses việc, sự and quá trình without article or number marking; English nominalisations require choices about determiners, countability, prepositions and agreement.
Transfer risk
Direct translation can create the decision of..., the researchs, or long of-phrases that are grammatical but unnatural.
Learning strategy
Find the established English noun and its collocation, then decide whether a finite verb would be clearer.
Everyday conversation
- Prefer
- Prefer active verbs and short noun phrases; use familiar nominalisations such as decision, change and improvement.
- Avoid
- Avoid bureaucratic strings of abstract nouns.
- Why
- Speech is processed in real time and benefits from visible verbs and actors.
IELTS Speaking
- Prefer
- Use verbs for personal experiences and selective nouns for abstract discussion.
- Avoid
- Avoid memorised academic noun chains that reduce fluency.
- Why
- Natural spoken control is more valuable than maximum density.
IELTS Writing and research
- Prefer
- Use nominalisation to connect sentences, define concepts and create manageable themes.
- Avoid
- Avoid hiding responsibility, causal steps or the main finite verb.
- Why
- Academic density is useful only when relations remain recoverable.
Pack or unpack console
Select the discourse purpose and compare the recommended packaging strategy.
Select one discourse choice to inspect its effect.
Common nominalisation families
Forms and meanings are lexical; the table is a guide, not a production algorithm.
| Base | Nominalisation | Typical frame |
|---|---|---|
| analyse | analysis | an analysis of the data |
| expand | expansion | the expansion of the city |
| approve | approval | approval of/by |
| reliable | reliability | the reliability of the estimate |
| different | difference | a difference between X and Y |
When to pack and unpack
Good academic prose alternates dense noun phrases with clear finite clauses.
| Need | Prefer | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| State responsibility | active finite clause | actor remains explicit |
| Refer back to a known process | this/the + nominalisation | supports cohesion |
| Define a stable concept | technical nominalisation | creates a reusable term |
| Explain causal steps | finite verbs | relations remain visible |
✕ The analyse of the data revealed a trend.
✓ The analysis of the data revealed a trend.
Analyse is a verb; analysis is the established noun.
✕ Several researches confirm the result.
✓ Several studies confirm the result.
Research is normally uncountable in this meaning; use studies for separate investigations.
✕ The team conducted an evaluation of the model.
✓ The team evaluated the model.
The active verb is shorter and clearer unless evaluation itself is the discourse topic.
✕ The delay of maintenance increased risk.
✓ The authority's delay in maintenance increased risk.
The possessive phrase restores the responsible actor, and delay in is the natural pattern.
Choose by communicative purpose and discourse effect
1. Which sentence uses an established nominalisation?
2. Which version best keeps responsibility explicit?
3. When is this increase most useful?
4. Which choice is usually clearer?
Rewrite a six-sentence academic paragraph twice: first with strategic nominalisation for cohesion, then with active verbs for maximum clarity. Explain which version suits a research report and which suits an oral explanation.
Every nominalisation is an established English word.
Determiners, countability, prepositions and agreement are correct.
Agency remains explicit when responsibility matters.
The main finite verb remains easy to locate.
Nominalisation performs a real cohesion or abstraction function.
03 · Worked examples
Observe form, function and meaning together
The team calibrated the model carefully.
Nhóm hiệu chỉnh mô hình cẩn thận.
Careful calibration of the model reduced the timing error.
Việc hiệu chỉnh mô hình cẩn thận làm giảm sai số thời điểm.
The shoreline retreated rapidly. This retreat exposed the foundation.
Đường bờ lùi nhanh. Sự lùi bờ này làm lộ móng.
A reduction in wave energy was observed after construction.
Một sự suy giảm năng lượng sóng được quan sát sau khi xây dựng.
In Speaking, I would normally say people use more energy, not the increased utilisation of energy by people.
Trong Speaking, tôi thường nói people use more energy chứ không nói the increased utilisation of energy by people.
04 · High-risk contrast
Explain why one form fails, not only which answer is correct
The analyse of the data led to an improvement of the model.
The analysis of the data led to an improvement in the model.
Analyse is a verb; the noun is analysis. Nominalisations also select their own prepositions: improvement commonly takes in when the thing itself becomes better and to when a change is made to it in some contexts.
05 · Mastery check
Apply the rule before marking the lesson complete
Which sentence is grammatically acceptable in the target system?
Which description best defines “nominalisation”?
Which example is one of the verified target patterns in this lesson?
Which structural formula belongs to this lesson?
Complete all four checks, then submit a sentence for target-form feedback.
06 · IELTS Academic
Transfer grammar into a real communicative task
In Speaking, prefer transparent verbs and use common nominalisations only where natural. In Writing Task 1, nouns such as increase, decline, fluctuation and recovery help organise trends, but article and preposition choices must be accurate. In Task 2, nominalisation can create abstract topics and cohesion, yet excessive noun chains can make an argument obscure.
Derive established noun forms rather than inventing a form from a Vietnamese translation.
Control countability, articles and prepositions inside the nominal phrase.
Use nominalisation for topic continuity or compression, not merely to sound formal.
Rewrite an opaque noun chain as a clear clause without losing technical meaning.