Choosing nominal or verbal clauses

Level 5

Nominal style (gaya nominal) uses nouns to describe actions for an objective, formal tone. Verbal style (gaya verbal) uses verbs for a direct, dynamic, and clear tone.

How It Works

1. Nominal Style (Gaya Nominal)
This style relies on nominalization—turning verbs, adjectives, or entire predicates into nouns. It is a key category of stylistics and discourse analysis.

  • Affixes: Uses peN-...-an (indicating a process, typically linked to active verbs with meN-), per-...-an (indicating a result, state, or institution, typically linked to intransitive verbs with ber-), or -an for verbal roots.
  • Adjectival Nominalization: The affix ke-...-an is the primary method for turning adjectives into abstract nouns (e.g., indah to keindahan).
  • The '-nya' Nominalizer: Across colloquial, classical, and formal or scientific registers, the suffix -nya is used to nominalize the predicate of a clause, turning the entire unit into a noun phrase (e.g., Hadirnya beliau mengejutkan kami - His presence/the fact that he attended surprised us).
  • The 'yang' Nominalizer: The particle yang can turn adjectives, verbs, and prepositional phrases into nouns, creating headless relative clauses (e.g., Yang merah itu pilihan saya - The red one is my choice; Yang memukul saya - The one who hit me).
  • Function: Creates objectivity and density by focusing on concepts rather than actors. Common in academic and legal prose.

2. Verbal Style (Gaya Verbal)
This style uses active or passive verbs to drive the sentence.

  • Active and Passive: Uses meN- for active voice or di- and ter- for passive voice. The passive is often used as a 'passive of objectivity' to maintain a formal tone without the density of full nominalization.
  • Function: Creates a dynamic, transparent tone where the 'who' and 'what' are clear.
  • Usage: Preferred in journalism, speeches, and storytelling to improve readability.
  • Example: Meningkatkan kualiti (To increase quality) vs. Peningkatan kualiti.

3. Stylistic Balance
While nominalization is formal, excessive use leads to 'heavy' sentences (ayat yang berat). Modern Malay pedagogy encourages a balance, often converting 'stacked' nouns back into verbal clauses to ensure the message is persuasive and easy to digest.

4. Kesejajaran (Parallelism)
While choosing between nominal and verbal styles is often a matter of tone, mixing them in lists or coordinated clauses violates a strict structural rule in formal Malay syntax known as Kesejajaran (parallel clause structure). Ideas expressed in a series must be parallel—either all nominal or all verbal.

  • Incorrect (Mixed): Langkah tersebut melibatkan penghematan kos, mengurangkan sisa, dan peningkatan kecekapan.
  • Correct Nominal: Langkah tersebut melibatkan penghematan kos, pengurangan sisa, dan peningkatan kecekapan.
  • Correct Verbal: Langkah tersebut melibatkan usaha menghematkan kos, mengurangkan sisa, dan meningkatkan kecekapan.

Examples (5)

  1. Pihak kerajaan sedang mengkaji pelaksanaan undang-undang baharu tersebut.

    The government is studying the implementation of the new law.

    Word by Word: Side government progressive study implementation law new that.

    Nominal style: Uses the noun 'pelaksanaan' (implementation) to focus on the process as a concept.

  2. Pihak kerajaan sedang mengkaji bagaimana untuk melaksanakan undang-undang baharu tersebut.

    The government is studying how to implement the new law.

    Word by Word: Side government progressive study how for implement law new that.

    Verbal style: Uses the verb 'melaksanakan' (to implement), making the sentence feel more direct and action-oriented.

  3. Penglibatan belia dalam sukan amat digalakkan.

    Youth involvement in sports is highly encouraged.

    Word by Word: Involvement youth in sports very passive-encourage.

    Nominal style: 'Penglibatan' (involvement) acts as the subject, creating a formal, objective tone.

  4. Belia amat digalakkan untuk melibatkan diri dalam sukan.

    Youth are highly encouraged to involve themselves in sports.

    Word by Word: Youth very passive-encourage for involve self in sports.

    Verbal style: Uses the active verb 'melibatkan diri' (to involve oneself), focusing on the actors (the youth).

  5. Langkah itu bertujuan untuk memastikan keberkesanan program tersebut.

    That step aims to ensure the effectiveness of the program.

    Word by Word: Step that aim for ensure effectiveness program that.

    Nominal style: Uses 'keberkesanan' (effectiveness) to describe a state or quality formally.

Common Mistakes

  • Lack of parallelism (mixing nominal and verbal styles in a list).

    Langkah itu termasuk pengurangan kos dan meningkatkan kualiti.
    Langkah itu termasuk pengurangan kos dan peningkatan kualiti.

    In formal writing, if you start a list with a noun (pengurangan), the subsequent items should also be nouns (peningkatan) to maintain balance.

  • Stacked nouns (Nahu Berlapik), making the sentence vague and heavy.

    Penyelarasan pengurusan pelaksanaan pembangunan itu sedang berjalan.
    Pihak kami sedang menyelaraskan cara mengurus pelaksanaan pembangunan itu.

    Using too many 'peN-...-an' words in a row (coordination of management of implementation...) obscures who is actually doing the work. Converting some to verbs improves clarity.

How It Connects

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Choosing nominal or verbal clausesLevel 5