Augmentation des prix de l'énergie cet hiver. — Construction d'un nouvel hôpital dans le quartier nord. — La découverte de ce document a changé l'enquête. — Le gouvernement annonce une réduction des impôts et une amélioration des transports. — Arrivée du président prévue à midi ; son départ est fixé à dix-huit heures.
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GrammarC1nominalisationregister
Nominalisation (formal written style)
La nominalisation
C1fr27 min
What you'll learn
- Turn verbs into nouns
- Write in the nominal style
- Predict the gender
Tips for this lesson
- The suffix tells you the gender: -tion and -ité are feminine, -ment and -age are masculine.
- Headlines are nominalisation in its purest form: « Hausse des prix », not « Les prix ont augmenté ».
- Don't invent nouns — check that the derived form actually exists.
Step 1 of 6
1Reading
In context
Read these press extracts. Each bold noun replaces a whole verbal clause — that density is the point.
Step 2 of 6
2The pattern
The pattern — compress the verb into a noun
Formal French prefers nouns where English often keeps verbs. The suffix carries both the meaning and the gender.
Nominalisation turns a verb (or an adjective) into a noun, producing the dense style of headlines, reports, administrative and academic writing. « Les prix ont augmenté » becomes « l'augmentation des prix ». The structure is regular: the verb becomes the noun, and its subject or object attaches with de. The suffix is doubly useful, because it also fixes the gender: -tion / -sion / -ité / -ure / -ance / -ence are feminine; -ment / -age / -isme are masculine. Some nouns are irregular and simply have to be learned (partir → le départ, mourir → la mort, découvrir → la découverte). Adjectives nominalise too (pauvre → la pauvreté, long → la longueur). Written French uses this constantly — recognising it aids comprehension, and producing it is what makes writing sound genuinely C1.
| Suffix | Gender | Verb → noun | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -tion / -sion | feminine | augmenter → l'augmentation | l'augmentation des prix |
| -ment | masculine | changer → le changement | le changement de politique |
| -age | masculine | passer → le passage | le passage du train |
| -ité | feminine | possible → la possibilité | la possibilité d'un accord |
| -ance / -ence | feminine | croire → la croyance | la croyance populaire |
| -ure | feminine | ouvrir → l'ouverture | l'ouverture du magasin |
| Irregular | Noun | Verbal sentence | Nominal version |
|---|---|---|---|
| partir | le départ | il est parti tôt | son départ matinal |
| mourir | la mort | il est mort en 1821 | sa mort en 1821 |
| découvrir | la découverte | on a découvert le document | la découverte du document |
| arriver | l'arrivée (f.) | le président arrive | l'arrivée du président |
Les prix ont augmenté. → L'augmentation des prix.
Prices have risen. → The rise in prices.
The subject of the verb becomes the complement with de.
Le gouvernement a réduit les impôts. → La réduction des impôts par le gouvernement.
The government reduced taxes. → The reduction of taxes by the government.
The agent can be kept with par, exactly as in the passive (B2-04).
On a découvert ce document. → La découverte de ce document.
This document was discovered. → The discovery of this document.
Irregular noun, but the same de structure.
La ville est pauvre. → La pauvreté de la ville.
The town is poor. → The poverty of the town.
Adjectives nominalise as readily as verbs.
Erreurs fréquentes
- le augmentation des prixl'augmentation des prix
-tion nouns are feminine, and the article elides before the vowel.
- la changement de politiquele changement de politique
-ment nouns are masculine. The suffix decides — not the meaning.
- la partition du président (meaning his departure)le départ du président
Don't build a noun by analogy. partir has an irregular noun, and partition means something else entirely.
Exceptions & à retenir
Not every verb has a usable noun
Some verbs have no common derived noun, or the noun has drifted in meaning. When in doubt, keep the verb — an invented nominalisation is far worse than a plain sentence.
Two nouns from one verb, two meanings
changer gives both le changement (the process) and la monnaie (coins). Similarly, ouvrir gives l'ouverture (opening) but also une ouverture in music. Check the sense you need.
Overuse turns writing to stone
Stacking nominalisations produces the impenetrable style of bad administrative French. C1 writing alternates nominal and verbal sentences deliberately.
Astuces & mémo
- Transformation recipe: find the verb, replace it with its noun, attach the rest with de.
- Let the suffix set the gender: -tion, -sion, -ité, -ure, -ance, -ence feminine; -ment, -age, -isme masculine.
- Read press headlines aloud and expand them back into full sentences — the fastest way to internalise this style.
Step 3 of 6
3Q&A drill
Verb to noun
Match each verb to the noun derived from it.
Tap an answer below, then tap the question it belongs to — or tap a question first to pick its slot. Tap a filled slot to send the answer back.
- Q1augmenter
- Q2changer
- Q3partir
- Q4découvrir
- Q5construire
- Q6ouvrir
Step 4 of 6
4Fill the blanks
Guided practice — write the headline
Rewrite each sentence as a headline, using the noun.
Example
« Les prix ont augmenté » → (1) des prix.
→ Augmentation
Exercice
« On a construit un hôpital » → (1) d'un hôpital.
Exercice
« Le président est arrivé » → (2) du président.
Answer pool — drag onto a blank (or tap to fill the next one)
Next empty blank: 1
Step 5 of 6
5Word order
Build the sentence
Put the words in the correct order to build these nominal sentences.
Example
prixdesl'augmentation→L'augmentation des prix.
- Sentence 1Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 2Tap the words below to build the sentence.
Step 6 of 6
6Speak freely
Produce it
Write four headlines in the nominal style, then expand two of them back into ordinary sentences.
Ex.Augmentation du prix du carburant. Fermeture de l'école primaire. Amélioration des transports publics. Départ du directeur en septembre. En phrases : le prix du carburant a augmenté ; l'école primaire va fermer.
- 1.Écrivez quatre titres de presse au style nominal.
- 2.Réécrivez deux de vos titres en phrases complètes avec un verbe.
- 3.Quel est le genre de chaque nom que vous avez utilisé, et pourquoi ?