In the previous section, we learnt that the word 'noun' comes from nomen (a name) and we were introduced to a number of words in the same word family. Another word in that family is nominalisation.
Nominalisation is simply the process of converting a verb into a noun and using that noun instead of the verb. There are certain benefits in doing this. The following example illustrates how nominalisation improves style in a sentence.
- In Australia we generated 10 times the amount of solar power in 2011 that we generated in 2009.
- The generation of solar power increased tenfold in Australia between 2009 and 2011.
Notice how the verb generated has been turned into the noun generation. The noun generation is thus the nominalised form (the noun form) of the verb generated. The advantages are:
- The vague subject 'we' has been removed and the focus is now on the central issue, the generation of power - nominalisation helps to change the theme by placing the central issue in the foreground.
- The text is more compact because of that focus - and because there are now more content words than function words.
- The tone has changed; it is more formal, more scholarly.
Nominalisation is a powerful tool, especially when writing formal, academic articles (e.g. articles about history or science).