NOUN PHRASES
Nominalisation
In English we tend to limit the number of verbs in a sentence,
especially in formal or written English. This is called nominalisation.
Compare these two sentences:
- If you read more
books, your vocabulary will increase. (2 verbs)
- Reading more books means
an increase in your vocabulary. (1 verb)
We do this by using nouns instead of verbs; will
increase ® an increase
or by using a -ing
forms instead of verbs; read
® reading
Here are some more examples:
- She succeeded
because she worked hard. (2 verbs)
- Her success was
due to her hard work. (1 verb)
- Man is destroying
the ozone layer and this is causing skin cancers to increase.
- The destruction of
the ozone layer is the cause of the increase in skin cancers.