Verbs: avoiding nominalisations exercises

Using a verb in its noun form (turning it into a ‘nominalisation’) makes content sound more formal. Often, you will need to use another verb to make the sentence work,  leading to longer sentences. Content will sound more lively when you avoid nominalisations of verbs.

Exercise 1

Change the following nouns into verbs.

  1. Action
  2. Consideration
  3. Decision
  4. Discussion
  5. Investigation
  6. Movement
  7. Application
  8. Payment
  9. Reaction
  10. Refusal

Exercise 2

Circle the nouns that should be changed to verbs in the following sentences.

  1. An application to defer sitting an examination must be submitted within three working days of the examination.
  2. Approval is only given for projects that will have minimal impact on biodiversity values.
  3. Upon your arrival at the premises, notify the receptionist.
  4. Make your submission online via the planning portal.
  5. Patient complaints were about the hospital’s food.

Exercise 3

Rewrite the following sentences, using strong verbs to replace nouns and their weak verbs.

  1. You must accept the offer before you can commence enrolment at XYZ University.
  2. Applications for an export licence, and licence renewals can be made online.
  3. The solution to the problem is to make changes to the regulations.
  4. The web team leader undertook the editing of the new pages.
  5. Residential water consumption in Melbourne was 164 litres per person per day.

See: exercise solutions