«I enjoy it too read.» and «The reading amuses me.»
You may be wondering why the word «read» is capitalized in one sentence and lowercase in the other. This is because the verb «read» is nominalized in the second example.
What is meant by nominalization?
the nominalizationor sometimes also substantiation called, describes the conversion of parts of speech such as verbs and adjectives into nouns/substantives. According to their new part of speech, these are no longer written in lower case, but in upper case.
In the case of nominalization, adjectives and verbs are used as nouns and thus mostly express facts, states or processes. The following examples will show you nominalized verbs:
That To run was particularly strenuous in physical education today.
The art of writing is not given to everyone.
Before the To swim shouldn’t eat for half an hour.
In these examples you will find nominalized adjectives:
That prettiest in school there are breaks.
You should focus on that worst prepare.
Something is coming soon New towards you.
The nominalization of verbs
A verb can be nominalized using the infinitivesbut also through prefixes and suffixes or one other modification are formed. However, the stem of the verb remains unchanged.
Prefixes and suffixes are also called prefixes and suffixes.
The nominalization of the infinitive
In the nominalization of the infinitive, the verb is essentially unchanged, except that it changes parts of speech and is capitalized. As a noun, it is always in the singular.
That Drive the child still finds it difficult to use the balance bike.
Parrots can even do that Speak learn.
The nominalization of verbs by prefixes and suffixes
A verb can also be nominalized by adding a prefix, or a suffix, to the root of the word. Typical suffixes in German are -ung, -er or -ling, -erei.
He meansthat the food tastes good.
He is the opinionthat the food tastes good.
In this example, the stem of the word «mein(en)» is followed by the ending -ung appended and the verb nominalized.
we to play with the new wooden railway and we enjoy it.
the gimmick with the new wooden railway is fun for us.
In this example, the verb «to play» was replaced by the ending -ei converted to a noun.
My sister wails about her sprained ankle.
That whine my sister is referring to her sprained ankle.
In this case, the verb «whine» is prefixed with ge nominalized.
By the way: This formation or derivation of a new word is also called «derivation«. If you want to learn more about it, check out our article on the subject.
Sometimes the verb ending can be omitted and the verb can become a noun.
Any car consumed different amounts of fuel.
Of the consumption of a car varies by model.
The nominalization of reflexive verbs
Reflexive verbs can also be nominalized, but the reflexive pronoun is usually omitted. The verb can also be modified here, but the root of the word always remains recognizable.
Reflexive verbs are back-referencing, meaning they refer to the subject in the sentence and therefore require a reflexive pronoun such as «himself».
she Interested opted for English pop music.
she has a interest for English pop music.
The nominalization of adjectives
Adjectives can also be nominalized. This is usually done by putting an article, pronoun or numeral before the adjective.
It is important that the article refers to the adjective and does not belong to a subsequent noun.
The following examples contain nominalized adjectives:
That Blueness in the sky looks very bright today.
Something is coming soon good happen.
That greatest on vacation is the sea view.
recognize nominalization
Nominalized words always become Gcapitalized. If the opposite is the case, the word cannot be a nominalization. In addition, nominalizations usually follow a signal word. Therefore, you can easily recognize them by articles, for example. Since in most cases there is an article before a noun, this can also be a sign for a nominalization.
The reading of a book brings her great joy.
In his excitement, the boy forgets the work.
(The calculating with paint sequences is easy!
Sometimes, as the last example shows, the article can be omitted.
The article sample
Even if there is no article before a nominalized word, you can often add it or think of it. In this way you can find out whether it is a substantive verb even without an article as a signal word.
Example:
I think that Learn by heart one of my strengths.=> I think that the memorization one of my strengths.
As you can see, you can simply put an article in front of your nominalized verb to check.
The preposition as a signal word of nominalization
A preposition can also show you that the following word is nominalized, because a preposition always requires a noun in a specific case. The following examples show you the connection between nominalization and preposition:
One hour before sleep you should put down your phone.
During the meal you can have a good chat with friends.
By writing it down of things he can remember better.
In these examples, too, the nominalization is preceded by an article that refers to the noun. «At» and «before» are combinations of «at» and «before».
The pronoun as a signal word of nominalization
Pronouns can also tell you that the next word has been converted to a noun.
His paintings are exhibited in the gallery.
Her beauty is stunning!
Yours serenity is really admirable.
In this example, not only has a verb (to paint) been converted to a noun, but also the adjectives «beautiful» and «calm» have been replaced by the suffix -Ness nominalized.
Possessive pronouns are possessive pronouns.
Nominalization: quantities as signal words
If you come across a quantity such as «everything, some, something» or «a little» in a sentence and then a capitalized word follows, this can also be a nominalization. This is true when the noun stems from a verb. The following examples show you a quantity with a nominalization:
The students learn everything important on the subject of «nominalization».
Today I would like something exciting experience!
In these examples, the nominalized adjectives are capitalized after a quantity.
How do I form a nominalization?
Most commonly, verbs are nominalized by adding a Articles before their infinitive form puts.
Adjectives are made by prefixing with a article, pronoun or one preposition and the respective adaptation of the ending nominalized.
An exception is when adjectives are followed by a noun. Then the adjective refers to the noun and is therefore not nominalized and therefore not capitalized!
Since the parts of speech verbs and adjectives are most commonly nouned, this article primarily deals with the rules of these two parts of speech.
Rules for nominalizing verbs
There are four ways to nominalize verbs:
1. Put an article in front of the infinitive form of the verb.
You can almost always use this possibility of nominalizing verbs. And because it’s so simple, it’s also the most common.
Lisa eats preferably pretzels.
«eats» => infinitive form «meal»
Lisa loves the most the food of pretzels.
2. Add another ending.
using the endings -ung, -he, -be or -ei your verbs can be nominalized. Sometimes you can just omit the verb ending.
«It’s about to be ready.» becomes «It’s about being finished.»
«Hans loves it to run.» becomes «Hans loves the running.»
«He’s trying to jump the highest.» becomes «He succeeds in trying to jump the highest.»
3. Use the past participle of the verb as a noun.
With this form of nominalization it becomes participle IIor also called the perfect participle, with a substantive ending mostly in the neuter, i.e. in the factual form.
«You said what I thought.» can become «You said what I thought.» will.
4. Add a prefix.
A nominalization can also happen by adding a prefix.
«I don’t like it when my aunt talks about her work.» becomes «I don’t like my aunt’s talk about work.»
Rules for nominalizing adjectives
The most common way of nominalizing adjectives is by adding…
• an (in)determinate one article,
• one pronoun,
• one numerals (nothing, little, a lot,…).
These examples show you nominalized adjectives:
yellow ==> the yellow
better ==> the best
good => nothing good
If the adjective is followed by a noun to which the adjective refers, the adjective is always lowercase. In this case, this rule does not apply, even if it is preceded by an article, pronoun or numeral.
This example illustrates the exception when an adjective is not capitalized despite the signal word:
Example:my sweet dog
The pronoun «my» refers to the dog and not the adjective «cute».
The adjective itself only describes the dog and cannot be nominalized.
Rules for nominalizing other parts of speech
Not only verbs and adjectives can be nominalized. You can also noun other parts of speech such as pronouns, prepositions, adverbs and numerals.
against => The against that I encounter here makes me sad.
earlier => The earliest would be 9 a.m.
first => She wanted to be the first.
From these examples it becomes clear that an article must be used in order to form the nominalization.
Nominalization – The most important thing
- Nominalization/substantiation describes the Conversion of a word into a noun.
- You can recognize a nominalization by the fact that the nominalized word is capitalized and a articlepronouns or prepositions (can) stand in front of it.
- You nominalize verbs by adding an article to the infinitive form, changing the ending, using the past participle or adding a prefix.
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You nominalize adjectives by putting an article, a pronoun or a numeral in front of them and adjusting the ending.
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Other parts of speech are nominalized by adding articles.