-tion / -ment / -age

Turning Verbs into Nouns

Level 4

Nominalization allows you to turn an action (verb) into a concept or thing (noun). For example, réaliser (to realize) becomes la réalisation (the realization).

How It Works

Nominalization is a key feature of the style nominal in French, which favors nouns over verbs to sound more objective or concise.

1. Suffix -tion (and -ation, -ition, -sion)
This is the most common suffix for abstract concepts and verbs ending in -er. These nouns are almost always feminine.

  • Expliquer → l'explication
  • Produire → la production

2. Suffix -ment
This suffix often attaches to the verb stem and usually describes the action or the state resulting from it. These nouns are almost always masculine.

  • Changer → le changement
  • Développer → le développement

3. Suffix -age
This suffix is often used for technical, concrete, or collective actions. These nouns are almost always masculine.

  • Laver → le lavage
  • Jardiner → le jardinage

Note on Register: While nominalization is frequent in everyday speech (like le ménage), it is especially prevalent in journalism and administration to summarize complex events into a single subject: 'L'augmentation des prix' (The increase in prices) sounds more formal than 'Les prix augmentent' (Prices are increasing).

Examples (5)

  1. L'augmentation du prix de l'essence inquiète les automobilistes.

    The increase in gas prices worries drivers.

    Word by Word: The increase of the price of the gas worries the motorists.

    Here, the verb 'augmenter' is turned into the noun 'augmentation' using the suffix -tion.

  2. Le téléchargement de ce fichier prendra quelques minutes.

    The downloading of this file will take a few minutes.

    Word by Word: The downloading of this file will take some minutes.

    The verb 'télécharger' becomes 'téléchargement' using the suffix -ment.

  3. Le jardinage est mon activité préférée le week-end.

    Gardening is my favorite activity on the weekend.

    Word by Word: The gardening is my activity favorite the weekend.

    The verb 'jardiner' becomes 'jardinage' using the suffix -age to describe the activity.

  4. La décision du directeur a surpris tout le monde.

    The director's decision surprised everyone.

    Word by Word: The decision of the director has surprised all the world.

    The verb 'décider' changes its stem to become 'décision' (a variant of -tion).

  5. Le gouvernement a annoncé la prolongation du confinement.

    The government announced the extension of the lockdown.

    Word by Word: The government has announced the extension of the lockdown.

    The verb 'prolonger' becomes 'prolongation' (feminine, -tion) to name the act of making something last longer.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the wrong grammatical gender for the suffix.

    Le explication est claire.
    L'explication est claire.

    Nouns ending in -tion are feminine (la/l'), while learners often assume they are masculine because many English equivalents are neutral.

  • Over-generalizing a suffix to the wrong verb.

    Le décidement de l'équipe.
    La décision de l'équipe.

    Not every verb can take every suffix. You must learn which suffix (-tion, -ment, or -age) belongs to which verb.

  • Confusing the noun with the present participle (-ant).

    L'enseignant est important.
    L'enseignement est important.

    'Enseignant' refers to the person (teacher), while 'enseignement' refers to the concept or system (teaching).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-tion / -ment / -ageLevel 4Turning Verbs into Nouns

Learn This First

To understand nominalization, you need to be comfortable with French verb stems and the concept of grammatical gender, as the resulting nouns will always be either masculine or feminine depending on the suffix used.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-tion-ment-age