Readers understand sentences more easily if the verb expresses the action. Compare the verbs in bold in the two sentences below.
In sentence a), the actions of paying and issuing are expressed in the form of two nouns (payment and issuance), not in the verb (carried out), which is empty. The technical term for expressing actions in the form of nouns is nominalization. When you nominalize your texts, they will often sound abstract and dense because you use more abstractions and you require more words to express an idea. Note that the nominalized sentence above (a) is 17 words long while the verb-style sentence (b) is only 13.
For this reason, use verbs to express actions. Do not conceal them in nominalizations.
 | Full payment of all outstanding fees must be carried out before issuance of degree certificates to students. |
 | All outstanding fees must be paid before degree certificates can be issued. |
In sentence a), the actions of paying and issuing are expressed in the form of two nouns (payment and issuance), not in the verb (carried out), which is empty. The technical term for expressing actions in the form of nouns is nominalization. When you nominalize your texts, they will often sound abstract and dense because you use more abstractions and you require more words to express an idea. Note that the nominalized sentence above (a) is 17 words long while the verb-style sentence (b) is only 13.
For this reason, use verbs to express actions. Do not conceal them in nominalizations.
Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics
Darrera actualització: 23-4-2024
Recommended citation:
«Verbs and actions» [en línia]. A: Llibre d’estil de la Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics. <https://www.ub.edu/llibre-estil/criteri.php?id=2464> [consulta: 18 desembre 2024].
