Representing actions with nouns
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Teaching implications | page 5 of 8 |
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Children learn to use verb forms before nominalisation. |
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Students learn to talk and write in clauses  and only later acquire the ability to replace these clauses with noun groups and
nominalisations. |
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The appropriate use of nominalisations as noun modifiers
allows a writer or speaker to convey a great deal of information
very concisely. Almost any noun or nominalisation can be used to modify another noun. |
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The ability to recognise and use nominalisations and to manipulate word
classes is an immensely useful skill, and one which is deliberately tested in public
examinations - both HKCEE Paper II Reading Comprehension and Usage and Use of
English Section C (2) Language Systems. |
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Teachers need to think about how they can help students learn to use
nominalisations in appropriate contexts and registers. |
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Teachers also need to help their students acquire proofreading skills,
such as how to unpack nominalisations where there is insufficient information given for
the reader to understand the meaning. |
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When students are drafting compositions and reports, it may be necessary in the revision or proofreading stage for them to make a number of changes if they wish to nominalise a process, or summarise a previous clause. For example, there might not be a related noun for a given verb (as in have - possession). Also, any adverbs will need to be changed to adjectives (such as beautifully - beautiful). |
Introduction
Focusing on writing - points to consider
