Practice FrenchC1
Formal nominalization and compression
At C1, French writing often becomes denser and more abstract. One common technique is nominalization: turning a verb phrase into a noun phrase to sound more formal or concise.
Main patterns
- mettre en oeuvre / mise en oeuvre
- prendre une décision / prise de décision
- faire une demande / formuler une demande
- commencer à analyser / début de l'analyse
- l'arrivée de, la création de, l'évolution de
Why it matters
Nominalization helps French reports, proposals, and essays sound compact and objective. It is especially common in formal summaries and institutional writing.
Watch out
Do not overcompress. Good C1 writing uses nominalization when it improves structure, not every time a verb could become a noun.
Try three examples
Example 1
Choose the sentence whose main subject names the process as a noun, preserving the given meaning.
- On a commencé à mettre le plan en oeuvre.
- La mise en oeuvre du plan a commencé.
- On commence le plan en oeuvre.
- Le plan commence en oeuvre.
Show answer
La mise en oeuvre du plan a commencé.
The implementation of the plan has begun.
Example 2
Choose the option that completes the French sentence and matches its meaning.
___ de la politique
- mise en oeuvre
- mis en oeuvre
- mettre en oeuvre
Show answer
mise en oeuvre
Implementation of the policy.
Example 3
Choose the sentence whose main subject names the process as a noun, preserving the given meaning.
- La prendre décision a été rapide.
- La prise de décision a été rapide.
- La décision a été prendre rapidement.
- Nous avons décision pris vite.
Show answer
La prise de décision a été rapide.
The decision-making was quick.
Practice this lesson
Continue with the interactive exercise set and save your progress.