Tamilnadu State Board Class 10 English Grammar Nominalisation
♦ Nominalisation (Text Book Page No.: 105-107)
Formal written English uses nouns more than verbs. For example, “judgement” rather than “judge”, “development” rather than “develop”, “admiration” rather than “admire”.
Changing a verb or other word into a noun is called nominalisation.
Instead of:
This information enables us to formulate precise questions.
We would write:
This information enables the formulation of precise questions.
Compare these sentences:
1. Organisms reproduce. This is a major characteristic of life.
2. Reproduction is a major characteristic of life.
In general, they mean the same, but sentence 2 is expressed more concisely. It uses the word “reproduction”, whereas sentence 1 uses the word ’’reproduce”. Here the word “reproduce” is a verb. It would change to “reproduces” if “organisms” changed to “an organism”. “Reproduction” is a noun made from the verb “reproduce”; we call this process nominalisation.
| Word | Nomination |
| vary | variation |
| duplicate | duplication |
| divide | Division |
| mutate | mutation |
| combine | combination |
| adapt | adaptation |
| contract | contraction |
| expand | expansion |
| react | reaction |
| rotate | rotation |
| appropriate | appropriateness |
| active | activism |
| complex | complexity |
| desirable | desirability |
| sceptical | scepticism |
| willing | willingness |
Exercises: Type -1
Choose the correct nominalisation forms.
Question 1.
resolve
(a) Solve
(b) Solution
(c) Resolves
(d) Resolution
Answer:
(d) Resolution
Question 2.
imperil
(a) Peril
(b) Pearl
(c) Perish
(d) Impediment
Answer:
(d) Impediment
Question 3.
accustom
(a) Customization
(b) Customary
(c) Accustomed
(d) Custom
Answer:
(d) Custom
Question 4.
holy
(a) Hole
(b) Holiness
(c) Notification
(d) Whole
Answer:
(b) Holiness
Question 5.
absurd
(a) Absurdity
(b) Absurdness
(c) Sturdy
(d) Sturdiness
Answer:
(a) Absurdity
Question 6.
furious
(a) Furiously
(b) Furiousness
(c) Fury
(d) Furry
Answer:
(c) Fury
Question 7.
When you overlook his mistake it gives him (‘encourage’) to repeat it.
(a) Courage
(b) Courageous
(c) Courageously
(d) Encouragement
Answer:
(d) Encouragement
Question 8.
Do you have the (prove) of his crime?
(a) Proved
(b) Proving
(c) Proofly
(d) Proof
Answer:
(d) Proof
Question 9.
There is a __________ (sell) of cheap plasticware
(a) Seal
(b) Sale
(c) Sold
(d) Sells
Answer:
(b) Sale
Question 10.
Can you arrange (lend) for my mother’s operation?
(a) Loan
(b) Lent
(c) Lens
(d) Lean
Answer:
(a) Loan
Exercises: Type – 2
Combine the following pairs of sentences nominalising the first verb.
Question 1.
The poor live unhygienically. They suffer from diseases.
(a) The poor’s suffering from diseases because of their life’s unhygienic.
(b) The poor suffer from diseases because of their unhygienic life.
(c) Because of their unhygienic living, the poor suffer from diseases.
(d) The poor lived suffering from diseases because of their unhygienic.
Answer:
(b) The poor suffer from diseases because of their unhygienic life.
Question 2.
The daughter resembles her mother. The father often gets confused.
(a) Resemblance between the daughter and mother confuses the father.
(b) Resembled the daughter with the mother confuses the father.
(c) Resembling between the daughter and mother confuses the father.
(d) The daughter and mother confuse the father because they are resembling.
Answer:
(a) Resemblance between the daughter and mother confuses the father.
Question 3.
Ravi has been pursuing constantly. He wants a job in Infosys.
(a) Ravi has been pursuing constantly to get a job in Infosys.
(b) Ravi’s constant pursuance is to get a job in Infosys.
(c) Ravi’s constant pursuit is to get a job in Infosys.
(d) Constant pursuance of Ravi is to get a job in Infosys.
Answer:
(c) Ravi’s constant pursuit is to get a job in Infosys.
Question 4.
Population grows fast around industrial centres. The industrial centres provide better employment opportunities.
(a) Growing population around industrial centres is fast due to its better employment opportunities
(b) The population growthness around industrial centres is fast due to its better employment opportunities
(c) The population growness around industrial centres is fast due to its better employment opportunities
(d) The population growth around industrial centres is fast due to its better employment opportunities.
Answer:
(d) The population growth around industrial centres is fast due to its better employment opportunities.
Question 5.
He worked hard and got the job.
(a) His working hard got the job.
(b) His work hardly to get the job.
(c) His hard work got the job.
(d) He works hardly and got the job.
Answer:
(c) His hard work got the job