---
title: "Nominalisation: turning actions into nouns"
level: C1
chapter: "Style and register"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/nominalisation
updated: 2026-10-09
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Nominalisation: turning actions into nouns

Nominalisation means turning an action into a noun: _de gemeente verhoogt de prijzen_ becomes _het verhogen van de prijzen_ or _de verhoging van de prijzen_. Official Dutch is full of these nouns because they sound neutral and compact. They are also harder to read, so in your own writing a verb is usually the clearer choice.

## The pattern

> Formal Dutch often turns a verb into a noun. The object (what the action is done to) then follows _van_, and the doer either disappears or follows _door_.

- **Infinitive as noun:** put _het_ before almost any infinitive (the dictionary form of a verb): _het verhogen_, _het aanvragen_, _het niet tijdig betalen_. These are het-words, and they focus on the activity itself.
- **Derived noun:** many verbs also have a separate noun, often ending in _-ing_: _de verhoging_, _de opzegging_, but also _de aanvraag_, _de ontvangst_, _het besluit_. Nouns made with _-ing_ are de-words; the others you learn one by one (see [Making nouns from verbs and adjectives](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/nouns-from-verbs)).
- **Process or result:** _het verhogen_ is the act of raising. _De verhoging_ can also be the result, so you can count and measure it: _twee verhogingen_, _de verhoging bedraagt vijf procent_.
- **Who and what:** the object follows _van_ (_het verhogen van de huren_), the doer follows _door_ (_door de verhuurder_). With verbs that have no object, _van_ can introduce the doer: _het blaffen van de hond_.
- **Empty verbs:** a sentence built from nouns still needs a verb, so official Dutch adds verbs that carry little meaning: _plaatsvinden_, _overgaan tot_, _in behandeling nemen_, _uitvoering geven aan_.

## Examples

| **Het verhogen van de huren** stuit op veel verzet onder bewoners. | Raising the rents is meeting with a lot of resistance among residents. |
| **De verhoging van de huren** bedraagt gemiddeld vijf procent. | The rent increase averages five percent. |
| **Na ontvangst van uw aanvraag** nemen wij binnen acht weken een besluit. | Once we receive your application, we will make a decision within eight weeks. |
| **Zodra we je aanvraag hebben ontvangen**, beslissen we binnen acht weken. | As soon as we have received your application, we will decide within eight weeks. |
| **Het niet tijdig doorgeven van een verhuizing** kan leiden tot een boete. | Failing to report a move on time can result in a fine. |
| **Als je je verhuizing niet op tijd doorgeeft**, kun je een boete krijgen. | If you don't report your move on time, you may get a fine. |
| **Ter bevordering van de doorstroming** wordt **de aanleg van** een extra fietspad overwogen. | To improve the flow of traffic, the construction of an extra cycle path is being considered. |
| De gemeente **denkt erover om een extra fietspad aan te leggen**, zodat het verkeer beter doorstroomt. | The council is thinking about building an extra cycle path so that traffic flows better. |

## Why it works this way

Think of a verb as a small scene: someone does something, at a certain time. Nominalisation packs that scene into a closed box. The doer and the tense disappear, and what is left is a label you can move around: you can make it the subject of a new sentence or tuck it inside another noun.

Dutch has a name for this: _naamwoordstijl_ ("noun style"). Officials like it because _het niet tijdig betalen van de aanslag_ sounds neutral, blames nobody in particular and fits on one line. The reader, however, has to unpack every box again: who pays what, and by when? Stack a few boxes, as in _ter bevordering van de doorstroming_ plus _de aanleg van_, and you get a sentence that is short on the page but slow in the head. English has the same habit, so if you already distrust officialese in English, you know the cure.

Remember: a noun hides the people, a verb shows them. If your reader needs to know who does what, use a verb: _Als u de aanslag niet op tijd betaalt, krijgt u een herinnering._

Nominal style still has honest uses. It works in headings and lists, and whenever the action itself is your topic: _Het opzeggen van je abonnement kan online._ It also teams up with the passive (_wordt overwogen_), the subject of [the next lesson](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/choosing-the-passive).

## Watch out

- Not: _het verhogen de prijzen_ Say: _het verhogen van de prijzen_ (an infinitive used as a noun takes its object with _van_)
- Not: _het verhoging van de huur_ Say: _de verhoging van de huur_ (nouns made with _-ing_ are de-words, unlike _het verhogen_)
- Not: _Het verhogen van de huren leiden tot verzet._ Say: _Het verhogen van de huren leidt tot verzet._ (the subject is _het verhogen_, which is singular)
- Not: _Zwemming is goed voor je rug._ Say: _Zwemmen is goed voor je rug._ (Dutch _-ing_ does not work like English -ing: for an activity, use the infinitive)
- Not: _het Verhogen van de prijzen_ Say: _het verhogen van de prijzen_ (a German habit: Dutch does not capitalise nouns, not even infinitives used as nouns)

## Quick check

1. Choose _de_ or _het_: _... tijdig aanvragen van een parkeervergunning voorkomt een hoop gedoe._
2. Choose _van_ or _door_: _Het beoordelen van uw aanvraag ... de gemeente kan acht weken duren._
3. Fix the sentence: _De verlaging van de tarieven gaan op 1 januari in._
4. Choose _verhogen_ or _verhogingen_: _Huurders krijgen dit jaar te maken met twee ... van de huur._

## Answers

1. _Het_: an infinitive used as a noun is a het-word.
2. _door_: the doer takes _door_, and _van_ already introduces the object.
3. _De verlaging van de tarieven gaat op 1 januari in._ The subject is _de verlaging_, which is singular.
4. _verhogingen_: the infinitive noun has no plural here, while the _-ing_ noun can be counted.

## Use it today

Open a letter or web page from your _gemeente_ and find one sentence with a phrase like _het indienen van_ or _na ontvangst van_. Rewrite it with a verb and a clear subject (_Als u ... indient_, _Zodra wij ... hebben ontvangen_), then read both versions aloud and notice which one you understood first.

## Questions learners ask

**What is nominalisation in Dutch?**

Nominalisation means turning a verb into a noun, for example verhogen into het verhogen or de verhoging. It is typical of official and formal Dutch, where it makes sentences sound neutral and compact.

**Is it het verhogen or de verhoging?**

Both are correct Dutch. Het verhogen stresses the activity itself, while de verhoging can also mean the result, so you can count it and say how big it is: de verhoging bedraagt vijf procent.

**Why are Dutch government letters so hard to read?**

They often use naamwoordstijl, packing actions into nouns like het indienen van or na ontvangst van, which hides who does what and when. Rewriting such a sentence with a verb and a clear subject usually makes it much easier to follow.

From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.