oxford_guide_to_english_grammar

17 NOUNS AND NOUN PHRASES PAGE 190
149 Nominalization
1 Some noun phrases are equivalent to clauses.
Clause
The residents protested.
Someone published the document.
The landscape is beautiful.
Noun phrase
the residents' protests
the publication of the document
the beauty of the landscape
Expressing an idea in a noun phrase rather than a clause is called 'nominalization'.
Here are two examples in sentences.
The residents' protests were ignored.
The government opposed the publication of the document.
In written English, this is often preferred to The residents protested, but they were
ignored. For an example text, • 53(2).
NOTE
For the subject of the clause we use either the possessive form or the of-pattern.
Clause
Noun phrase
The visitor departed. the visitor's departure/the departure of the visitor
The scheme succeeded. the scheme's success/the success of the scheme
The telephone rang. the ringing of the telephone
2 An adverb in a clause is equivalent to an adjective in a noun phrase.
Adverb in clause
The residents protested angrily.
The landscape is amazingly
beautiful.
Adjective in noun phrase
The residents' angry protests were ignored.
Discover the amazing beauty of the landscape.
3 Look at these examples.
Verb + object
They published the document.
Someone attacked the President.
They've changed the law.
He answered the question.
Noun + preposition + object
the publication of the document
an attack on the President
a change in the law
his answer to the question
The most common preposition here is of. For noun + preposition, • 237.