Writing Tip

Don't Noun Your Verbs

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Recommendation: Prefer verb forms over nouns and adjectives when the option arises.

In technical documents—well, in all documents—the author wants his product to be dynamic, and that means VERBS. Yet these same authors may sabotage their own prose by employing the noun form of a word instead of the verb form. You can call this behavior “nouning” the verb, but the fancy (and formal) term for it is “nominalizing” the verb. Let’s see one of these sluggish constructions at work, and then we’ll rescue the verb from its cage:

Here, the term “conducted” is just a weak linking word, similar to “did.” So the team “did” an investigation. Big deal. Where’s the verbal thrust? Where’s the energy? Where’s the action in the word “conducted”? What did the team really do? It investigated something. Let’s rescue the verb from its cage:

Good. The noun “investigation” is now the verb “investigated.” Notice that there is less “dead wood,” as Richard Lanham says. We cut three bloated words. Plus, now we have a linguistic pattern that the reader loves: Subject-Verb-Object.

In addition to the problems identified above, a substantive problem with nominalized verbs is the way that they strike the ear. They sound institutional and bureaucratic. In fact, this indirect approach is a hallmark of institutional composition (papers, articles, books). And, the number of words swell (using a verb instead of a nominalizing contraption reduces the number of words required to get your point across).

Taking a perfectly good verb and turning it into a noun probably has a lot to do with our love for equations. Things are clear and unambiguous when someone declares that one thing is equal to another (did you note the adjectivalized verb in this sentence?). In grammar, the equivalent to an equals sign (=) is called a copulative verb (also known as a linking verb). These verbs link a noun (the subject) to an adjective (“the soup tastes bad”) or to another noun (especially when used with like, such as, “Her perfume smelled like lilies of the valley”). But the most pervasive copulative verb is “to be” and all of its conjugations (is, are, was, were, am, will be). Because authors love the simplicity of that little verb, we take phrases that are perfectly fit for active verbs and cast them as equations. For example:

The perfectly good verb here is discourage, which has been transformed into an ugly noun. Let’s reclaim the verb’s throne:

A composition full of nominalized verbs begins to sound dull (and duller and duller) because of all of the equal signs.

Imperatives

Imperatives are very strong verb forms. They are designed to command someone (or something) to act. Generally, when you are listing tasks to be performed in a set of instructions, authors use the imperative mood (also known as the command voice). This form is a verb followed by the object(s) of the verb and other modifiers, such as: “Tighten the nut with a 3/16" wrench.”

Never nominalize verbs that should obviously be cast in the imperative mood. Consider this task taken from a tecnical report:

Hidden in the first three words are two verbs. Here’s the revision after we rescue the verbs:

Adjectivalizing Verbs

Authors also convert verbs into adjectives. One verb that is abused in this way is “depend upon.” This verb is a tricky type of verb because it has more than one part. Because it is a phrase consisting of two or more words, it is called a phrasal verb. Always prefer “depend upon” or “depend on” as opposed to its adjectival form “be dependent upon/on:”

Now, rescue the verb:

Once again, the rescued verb affords that lovely Subject-Verb-Object pattern.

Here is another example:

Now, rescue the verb:

Examples of Rescuing the Verb

Original: The advent of Smart Grid Meters has presented many opportunities for advancement of our electric power system.
Nominalized Verb: Advance
Rescued: The advent of Smart Grid Meters has presented many opportunities to advance our electric power system.

Original: The team will gather data for the comparison of both UPS systems.
Nominalized Verb: Compare
Rescued: The team will gather data to compare both UPS systems.

Original: Improvement in energy efficiency comes primarily from reductions in losses.
Nominalized Verb: Reduce
Rescued: Improvement in energy efficiency comes primarily from reducing losses.

Original: The Project needs a transmission expansion analysis program.
Nominalized Verbs: Analyze
Rescued: The Project needs a program to analyze the expansion of the transmission system.

Original: Indoor transformers are usually less costly.
Adjectivalized Verb: Cost.
Rescued: Indoor transformers usually cost less.