Nominalization

Nominalization is a nominal form (ii) corresponding to a verbal expression

(i)  Hannibal [VP destroyed the city]
(ii) [NP Hannibal's [N' destruction of the city]]

In examples like (ii), the nominalization preserves the argument structure of the corresponding verb, but the way in which the arguments are realized differs. The subject gets a genitive -'s- marking, and the object must be accompanied by the preposition of.

Links

Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

Morphology

a word formation process by which a noun is formed usually by means of affixation. The process of nominalization has played an important role in the development of generative grammar since the late sixties. Especially the differences between abstract nouns such as criticism and gerunds such as criticizing played a central role. See Lexicalist hypothesis.

Links

Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

References

• Chomsky, N. 1970. Remarks on Nominalization, in: Jacobs, R. and P. Rosenbaum (eds.) Readings in English Transformational Grammar, Blaisdell, Waltham, MA.
• Grimshaw, J. 1990. Argument Structure, MIT-press, Cambridge, Mass.
• Spencer, A. 1991. Morphological Theory, Blackwell, Oxford.