Nominalization

Many verbs can be nominalized by using a noun based on the same root word as the verb.

Noun
Verb
analysis
analyse
test
test
investigation
investigate
study
study

Note that it is generally better to avoid nominalizations (see Avoid nominalizations), i.e., use a verb form rather than the nominalization of the verb.

Exemple inadequatMy aim is to conduct an analysis of how temperature regulation is affected by this process.

They did tests on three samples of each material.

Exemple adequatMy aim is to analyse how temperature regulation is affected by this process.

They tested three samples of each material.
 
However, this is not always possible. In the second example just above, if you were referring to a specific type of test, you might need to use the nominalized form.  

Exemple adequatThey did uniaxial tensile tests on three samples of each material.

Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics
Darrera actualització: 18-7-2022
Recommended citation:
«Nominalization» [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=3378> [consulta: 24 novembre 2024].