Nominal Style

Level 5

Nominal style (nominalstil) is the practice of turning actions (verbs) into nouns. It is the hallmark of academic, legal, and administrative Danish, creating a tone that is objective, impersonal, and information-dense.

How It Works

Nominal style is essential for professional Danish, though it requires a balance to avoid becoming bureaucratic Danish.

1. How to Form Nominalizations:
Verbs are converted into nouns using specific suffixes:

  • -ning / -ing: The most common for native verbs (e.g., betaling from betale).
  • -else: Often used for mental states or judgments (e.g., forståelse from forstå).
  • -tion / -sion: Used for words of Latin origin (e.g., administration).
  • -hed: Used to turn adjectives into abstract nouns (e.g., mulighed from mulig).

2. Syntactic Structure:
In nominal style, the object of the action is usually linked to the noun using the preposition af. For example: Gennemførelsen af projektet (The implementation of the project).

3. Why Use It?
It allows the writer to remove the 'agent' (the person doing the action) and focus entirely on the facts. It is standard for scientific abstracts, section headings, and legal texts. However, the 'Klarsprog' (Plain Language) movement in Denmark suggests using more active verbs when communicating with the general public to ensure clarity.

Examples (4)

  1. Gennemførelsen af undersøgelsen forudsætter deltagernes samtykke.

    The carrying-out of the study requires the participants' consent.

    Word by Word: The-carrying-out of the-study requires the-participants' consent.

    This is a classic nominal sentence. The verb 'gennemføre' (to carry out) has become the noun 'gennemførelsen'.

  2. Der er sket en markant stigning i antallet af ansøgninger.

    A marked increase in the number of applications has occurred.

    Word by Word: There is happened a marked increase in the-number of applications.

    Instead of saying 'more people applied' (verbal), the noun 'stigning' (increase) is used as the subject.

  3. Vedtagelsen af lovforslaget skabte stor debat.

    The passing of the bill created great debate.

    Word by Word: The-passing of the-bill-proposal created great debate.

    The action of 'passing' the bill is treated as a single noun phrase.

  4. Forståelsen af teksten kræver et vist ordforråd.

    The understanding of the text requires a certain vocabulary.

    Word by Word: The-understanding of the-text requires a certain vocabulary.

    Here, the suffix -else is used to nominalize the verb 'forstå'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the wrong suffix for nominalization.

    Undersøgning af sagen er slut.
    Undersøgelse af sagen er slut.

    While -ning is common, 'undersøge' always takes -else. Choosing the wrong suffix is a common learner error that sounds unnatural.

  • Using 'om' when you mean the thing being examined.

    Different MeaningEn undersøgelse om problemet.
    En undersøgelse af problemet.

    'En undersøgelse om problemet' is fine Danish. It says the study is about the problem as a topic. When the action-noun has the thing that is examined as its object, as in formal nominal style, Danish usually uses 'af': 'en undersøgelse af problemet'.

  • Over-reliance on 'light verbs' like 'foretage' (perform).

    Different MeaningVi foretog en undersøgelse af patienten.
    Vi undersøgte patienten.

    While nominal style is good for formal writing, using it where a simple verb would suffice (verbal style) can make your Danish sound unnecessarily heavy or 'bureaucratic'.

How It Connects

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Nominal StyleLevel 5

Learn This First

Nominal style is an advanced academic and official writing technique where verbs are replaced by nouns. To learn this, you must understand how to derive nouns from verbs using suffixes like -else and -ning, and how to use the preposition 'af' to express the relationship between the action and its object.