Precise Verbs and Nominalisation — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 10 vocabulary worksheet.

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Year 10 · English · Vocabulary

Precise Verbs and Nominalisation — Answers

Success Tutoring

Part A — Recognise the tools

Circle the best answer.

1.Nominalisation is the process of:

Aturning a noun into a verb
Bturning a verb or adjective into a noun
Cadding a prefix to a word
Dshortening a long word

Answer: turning a verb or adjective into a noun

For example, 'the council decided' becomes 'the council's decision'. The action becomes a thing that can be discussed.

2.Which sentence contains a nominalisation of the verb 'reduce'?

AThe council reduced parking fees.
BParking fees were reduced by the council.
CThe reduction in parking fees pleased shoppers.
DThe council will reduce parking fees next year.

Answer: The reduction in parking fees pleased shoppers.

'Reduction' is the noun formed from 'reduce'. Option B is passive voice, not nominalisation.

3.Which is the most precise analytical verb to complete: 'The repeated image of locked doors ______ the character's isolation.'

Ashows
Bhas
Creinforces
Dis about

Answer: reinforces

'Reinforces' says exactly what the image does: it strengthens an idea already present. 'Shows' is correct but vague.

4.When does nominalisation weaken writing?

AWhen it allows a complex idea to be named once and then discussed
BWhen it piles up abstract nouns so the reader cannot tell who did what
CWhen it is used in a topic sentence
DWhen it appears in a science report

Answer: When it piles up abstract nouns so the reader cannot tell who did what

Sentences such as 'The implementation of the evaluation of the proposal...' hide the actors and actions. Good writers nominalise to compress, not to obscure.

5.The noun formed from the adjective frequent is:

Afrequently
Bfrequence
Cfrequency
Dfrequentness

Answer: frequency

Frequency is the standard abstract noun. Many adjectives form nouns with -ness, -ity, -cy or -th (dark → darkness, able → ability, strong → strength).

Part B — Nominalise

Rewrite each sentence so that the underlined verb or adjective becomes a noun. Keep the meaning the same.

6.Nominalise the underlined verb: 'The council decided to close the pool, which angered residents.'

Answer: The council's decision to close the pool angered residents.

7.Nominalise: 'Because the climate is changing, farmers are planting earlier.'

Answer: Climate change has led farmers to plant earlier. (or: Changes in the climate have led farmers to plant earlier.)

8.Nominalise the underlined adjective: 'The bridge was strong, which impressed the engineers.'

Answer: The strength of the bridge impressed the engineers.

9.Nominalise: 'Students who participate regularly achieve more.'

Answer: Regular participation leads to higher achievement.

10.Nominalise: 'The author repeats the word 'home', and this emphasises the narrator's longing.'

Answer: The author's repetition of the word 'home' emphasises the narrator's longing. (The second verb stays as the main verb of the sentence.)

Part C — Unpack for clarity

These sentences are over-nominalised. Rewrite each with clear subjects and active verbs.

11.Unpack this sentence so the reader can see who did what: 'The implementation of the new policy by the school resulted in a reduction in lateness.'

Answer: When the school implemented the new policy, fewer students were late. (or: After the school introduced the new policy, lateness fell.)

12.Unpack: 'The failure of the committee to reach an agreement led to the postponement of the vote.'

Answer: Because the committee could not agree, the vote was postponed. (or: The committee failed to agree, so it postponed the vote.)

13.Unpack: 'There was an expectation among parents of improved communication from the school.'

Answer: Parents expected the school to communicate better.

Part D — Precise verbs

14.Vague: 'The poem shows that the speaker feels trapped.' Precise: 'The poem a speaker who feels trapped.'

Answer: constructs (or: presents, portrays, depicts)

Precise verbs describe what the text actively does to meaning or to the reader.

15.Vague: 'The author says that war is pointless.' Precise: 'The author that war is pointless.'

Answer: argues (or: contends, asserts, suggests)

'Says' treats the text as speech. 'Argues' or 'contends' recognises that the author is building a case.

16.Vague: 'The advertisement gets the reader to feel guilty.' Precise: 'The advertisement the reader to feel guilty.'

Answer: positions (or: manipulates, prompts, compels)

'Positions' is the standard verb for how a text shapes a reader's response.

17.Vague: 'The short sentences make the scene tense.' Precise: 'The short sentences the tension of the scene.'

Answer: heighten (or: intensify, accelerate)

'Heighten' describes the direction of the effect, not just its existence.

18.Write two sentences analysing a text you are studying (or the extract: 'The city at night was a mouth. Its lights were teeth.'). Sentence 1 should use a nominalisation; sentence 2 should use a precise analytical verb from this worksheet. Underline both.

Model answer: The writer's transformation of the city into a 'mouth' with lights for 'teeth' presents the urban night as predatory. This extended metaphor positions the reader to share the narrator's vulnerability as she walks into the city's jaws.

Success criteria:

Sentence 1 contains a correctly formed nominalisation (e.g. transformation, repetition, portrayal)
Sentence 2 uses a precise analytical verb (positions, constructs, heightens, undermines)
Both sentences make an analytical claim, not a plot summary
Quotations, if used, are short and embedded
Both techniques underlined

Marking tips

Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.

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