Nominalisation mechanics

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

Version B replaces both verbs with derivational nominals — decision (from decide), deterioration (from deteriorate), governance (from govern), provision (from provide) — and deploys four attributive modifiers to build a noun phrase of nine words where a single verb once stood. Lexical density rises from 38% to 61%. Syntactic compression is the mechanism: argument structure shrinks as the verb's subject, object, and complements collapse into a single noun phrase.

Grammar Reference · Nominalisation mechanics

Verb → Noun derivation

The government decided → The government's decision — suffix ‑ion strips tense, agency, and assigns a possessive determiner

Gerund nominal

The governing of public institutions remains contested. — process treated as an entity; no named actor required

Determiner signals

A reduction was proposed; the reduction was rejected. — article choice signals new vs. shared information

Common error

The fail of the policy... ✗ → The failure of the policy... ✓ — check the correct derivational suffix for each verb

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Nominalisation mechanics

1.The government (decide) to increase taxes shocked opposition parties.

2.The (just) of the sentence was questioned by human rights organisations across three continents.

3. (govern) public utilities without transparency leads to significant erosion of public trust.

4.The rapid (deteriorate) of infrastructure was linked to years of underfunding.

5. (accountable) for the misuse of public funds remains the central issue before the tribunal.

6.The (implement) of the new housing policy was delayed by three successive administrations.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.The agency failed to disclose the data, which damaged public trust significantly.

2.The committee approved the reform because members agreed it was necessary.

3.Legislators debated how to allocate resources fairly across competing departments.

4.The court decided that the policy was unjust, which forced a revision of the statute.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Nominalisation mechanics01EnglishPlans.com