The short answer
Nominalization means taking a verb — an action word — and turning it into a noun. Instead of deciding, you “make a decision.” Instead of investigating, you “conduct an investigation.” The action is still there — but it is buried inside a noun. This makes your sentences longer, heavier, and harder to read.
What does nominalization actually look like?
Here is the simplest way to spot it. In a nominalized sentence, a verb has been turned into a noun — usually by adding a suffix like -tion, -ment, -ance, -ence, -al, -ing.
Then the writer needs a weak helper verb to carry it — words like make, give, have, do, conduct, carry out, perform, achieve. That combination — weak verb + noun — is the nominalization trap.
Nominalized (heavy) ✗
The committee made a decision to delay the project.
With verb (clear) ✓
The committee decided to delay the project.
💡 Saved 2 words. Action is now clear.
Nominalized (heavy) ✗
The manager gave an explanation for the delay.
With verb (clear) ✓
The manager explained the delay.
💡 Saved 4 words. Shorter and more direct.
Nominalized (heavy) ✗
We need to carry out an analysis of the data.
With verb (clear) ✓
We need to analyse the data.
💡 Saved 3 words. The verb does the work alone.
Nominalized (heavy) ✗
They reached an agreement on the new terms.
With verb (clear) ✓
They agreed on the new terms.
💡 Saved 2 words. Cleaner and faster.
Think of it like this
Imagine you want to kick a ball. That is simple — one action, one word. Now imagine you say “perform the action of making contact with the ball using your foot.” Same action. But buried under layers of extra words. Nominalization is exactly that — it wraps a simple action in unnecessary packaging.
How to spot nominalization — look for the suffixes
When you see a noun ending with one of these suffixes, ask yourself: is there a simpler verb hiding inside?
-tion
-sion
-ment
-ance
-ence
-al
-ity
-ing (as noun)
-ure
-age
-ness
-ship
Example: consideration (-tion) → verb: consider. Improvement (-ment) → verb: improve.
The master fix list — 20 nominalizations and their verb forms
| Nominalized (wordy) | Verb form (use this) |
|---|---|
| make a decision | decide |
| conduct an investigation | investigate |
| give an explanation | explain |
| reach an agreement | agree |
| make an improvement | improve |
| carry out an analysis | analyse |
| provide a description | describe |
| make a suggestion | suggest |
| have a discussion | discuss |
| take into consideration | consider |
| make a recommendation | recommend |
| show an increase | increase |
| achieve a reduction | reduce |
| perform a calculation | calculate |
| give permission | permit / allow |
| make an assumption | assume |
| have an influence on | influence |
| come to a conclusion | conclude |
| give approval | approve |
| make a comparison | compare |
When is nominalization actually correct?
Nominalization is not always wrong. There are times when the noun form is the right choice.
✓ Nominalization is fine when: When you are talking about the concept, not the action
The investigation took three months. (You are talking about the investigation as a whole thing, not the act of investigating.)
✓ Nominalization is fine when: When the noun is the subject of your sentence
Deforestation is one of the leading causes of climate change. (Deforestation is a concept — using the verb 'to deforest' here would not work.)
✓ Nominalization is fine when: In academic writing when precision matters
The transformation of raw data into usable information is the core task. (Here, the noun form carries specific technical meaning.)
Exam tip — IELTS Writing / Professional Writing
IELTS examiners reward grammatical range and accuracy. A sentence with a strong verb shows more grammatical control than the same idea buried in a noun phrase. When you revise your essay, search for “make a”, “give a”, “have a”, “do a”, “carry out a” — these are almost always nominalization traps. Replace them with the verb.
🤖 AI writing tip
Grammarly Premium and ChatGPT both flag nominalizations under “wordy sentences” or “hidden verbs.” When you see that suggestion, look for the noun ending in -tion, -ment, -anceand ask: “Is there a verb form of this word?” If yes — use the verb. Your sentence will be shorter and stronger.
Read Next
Etymology & Word Roots Matrix
The -tion, -ment, -ance suffixes — where they come from and what they mean
Active & Passive Voice — 10 Rules
Nominalizations often lead to passive constructions — understand the link
Why Is Wordiness Wrong?
Nominalization is one cause of wordiness — see the full picture
IELTS Writing Grammar — Band 7+ Guide
How to avoid nominalization traps in IELTS Task 2