German has a register-wide stylistic preference that surprises almost every English speaker: in formal, official, academic, and bureaucratic writing, German prefers to pack actions into nouns rather than spell them out as verbs. Where English plain-language guides tell you to "use strong verbs," German officialdom rewards the opposite. This is the Nominalstil ("nominal style"), and learning to deploy it — and to recognize when it tips into unreadable bureaucratese — is a core skill for writing formal German.
Nominalstil vs. Verbalstil: the basic contrast
Compare two ways of saying the same thing. The Verbalstil ("verbal style") uses finite verbs and subordinate clauses. The Nominalstil turns those verbs into nouns and links them with prepositions and genitives.
Nachdem er das Studium beendet hatte, zog er nach Berlin.
After he had finished his studies, he moved to Berlin. (Verbalstil — a finite verb in a temporal clause)
Nach Beendigung des Studiums zog er nach Berlin.
After finishing his studies, he moved to Berlin. (Nominalstil — the verb 'beenden' has become the noun 'Beendigung')
The second version compresses a whole subordinate clause (nachdem er ... beendet hatte) into a single prepositional phrase (nach Beendigung des Studiums). The conjunction nachdem becomes the preposition nach; the verb beenden becomes the deverbal noun Beendigung; the subject and object reorganize into a genitive chain (des Studiums).
How to nominalize a verb
German builds deverbal nouns systematically. The most productive pattern for the nominal style is the -ung suffix, which turns a verb into a feminine action noun.
| Verb | Nominalization | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| durchführen | die Durchführung | the carrying-out / conducting |
| untersuchen | die Untersuchung | the investigation |
| verbessern | die Verbesserung | the improvement |
| beenden | die Beendigung | the conclusion / ending |
| entwickeln | die Entwicklung | the development |
| einführen | die Einführung | the introduction |
Other suffixes feed the same machine. Adjectives nominalize with -heit / -keit (sicher → die Sicherheit; möglich → die Möglichkeit), and many verbs supply a bare nominalized infinitive (das Schreiben, das Lesen) or a stem noun (der Beginn, der Verkauf, die Suche). The hallmark of the formal register is that these abstract nouns become the grammatical subjects and objects of the sentence, while the original verbs evaporate into the noun endings.
Die Durchführung der Untersuchung erfolgte unter Aufsicht der Kommission.
The investigation was conducted under the supervision of the commission. (literally: 'The carrying-out of the investigation took place under the supervision of the commission')
Zur Verbesserung der Lage wurden umfangreiche Maßnahmen ergriffen.
Extensive measures were taken to improve the situation. (formal — 'for the improvement of the situation')
Funktionsverbgefüge: the light-verb engine
The nominal style leans heavily on Funktionsverbgefüge — fixed combinations of a "light" verb plus a nominalized action, where the noun carries the real meaning and the verb is almost empty. English does the same thing with "make a decision" instead of "decide," but German formal writing uses these far more systematically.
| Verbalstil (full verb) | Nominalstil (light verb + noun) |
|---|---|
| entscheiden | eine Entscheidung treffen |
| antworten | eine Antwort geben |
| kritisieren | Kritik üben |
| helfen | Hilfe leisten |
| berücksichtigen | Berücksichtigung finden |
| anwenden | zur Anwendung kommen / bringen |
Der Vorstand traf eine Entscheidung über die künftige Strategie.
The board made a decision about the future strategy. (formal Funktionsverbgefüge — 'eine Entscheidung treffen' instead of plain 'entscheiden')
Neue Sicherheitsvorschriften kommen ab Januar zur Anwendung.
New safety regulations come into force in January. (bureaucratic — 'zur Anwendung kommen' = 'are applied')
Genitive chains and stacked prepositions
Because the nominal style turns verbs into nouns, the relationships those verbs once expressed (who did what to whom) now have to be carried by genitive attributes and prepositions. This produces the long, scaffolded noun phrases that are the visual signature of German officialese.
die Bewertung der Wirksamkeit der Maßnahmen zur Senkung der Emissionen
the assessment of the effectiveness of the measures for the reduction of emissions (four stacked genitives — typical of academic and policy German)
Die Überprüfung der Einhaltung der Vorschriften obliegt der Behörde.
Checking compliance with the regulations is the responsibility of the authority. (formal — genitive chain 'Überprüfung der Einhaltung der Vorschriften')
Each genitive answers a "of what?" question that the original verb's object used to answer. Man senkt die Emissionen ("one reduces the emissions") becomes die Senkung der Emissionen — the accusative object die Emissionen turns into the genitive der Emissionen.
The readability trade-off
Here is the honest part: the nominal style is not automatically "better German." Within German, style guides and the Verständlichkeit (comprehensibility) research tradition warn against piling up nominalizations, because they hide who does what. A sentence that says Nach Prüfung der Unterlagen erfolgt die Bewilligung der Anträge ("After examination of the documents, approval of the applications takes place") has no visible human agent at all — and that vagueness is sometimes the point in bureaucratic prose, which is exactly why plain-language reformers attack it.
So the skill has two halves. You need to produce nominal style to sound appropriately formal in an academic essay, a legal text, or an official letter — but you also need to dissolve it back into verbs when clarity matters or when an editor flags your prose as verkopft (over-cerebral) or Beamtendeutsch (civil-servant German).
Die Inangriffnahme der Umsetzung der Reform erfolgt nach Genehmigung durch das Ministerium.
Work on implementing the reform begins after approval by the ministry. (extreme Nominalstil — three nominalizations stacked; clear but heavy)
Sobald das Ministerium zugestimmt hat, beginnen wir, die Reform umzusetzen.
As soon as the ministry has agreed, we begin to implement the reform. (the same content in Verbalstil — lighter, with visible agents)
The English contrast — and why it traps learners
This is precisely where English speakers go wrong, and they go wrong in two opposite directions. English plain-language style (Strunk and White, the Plain English movement, "Orwell's rule" of preferring verbs to nouns) has trained native English writers to avoid nominalizations — "decide," not "make a decision"; "after he finished," not "after his finishing." When such writers move into formal German, they keep using verbs and short clauses, and the result reads as too colloquial for an academic or official context — accurate but unauthoritative.
The opposite trap catches learners who over-correct: having heard that German formal writing loves nouns, they nominalize everything, producing genitive chains so dense that even a native reader stumbles. The mark of real C1+ control is calibration — matching the density of nominalization to the register and to comprehensibility, not maximizing it.
In dieser Arbeit erfolgt die Untersuchung des Einflusses der Temperatur auf die Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit.
This paper investigates the effect of temperature on the reaction rate. (idiomatic academic German — note the nominal frame 'Untersuchung des Einflusses')
Zur Beantragung eines Reisepasses ist die Vorlage eines Lichtbildes erforderlich.
To apply for a passport, you must present a photograph. (official German — the verbal English 'apply / present' both become nouns)
Common Mistakes
❌ Nach er hatte das Studium beendet, zog er nach Berlin.
Incorrect — you cannot keep the clause subject 'er' inside a preposition; this is neither clean Verbalstil ('nachdem') nor Nominalstil.
✅ Nach Beendigung des Studiums zog er nach Berlin.
Correct — the nominalization 'Beendigung' + genitive 'des Studiums' replaces the whole clause.
❌ Wegen der verbessern der Lage...
Incorrect — 'verbessern' is still a verb; it must be nominalized to 'Verbesserung' and capitalized.
✅ Wegen der Verbesserung der Lage...
Because of the improvement in the situation... (capitalized noun + genitive)
❌ Der Vorstand machte eine Entscheidung.
Incorrect — calque of English 'made a decision'; German collocates 'treffen', not 'machen', with 'Entscheidung'.
✅ Der Vorstand traf eine Entscheidung.
The board made a decision. (the fixed Funktionsverbgefüge uses 'treffen')
❌ die Senkung die Emissionen
Incorrect — the object of the nominalized verb must go into the genitive, not stay accusative.
✅ die Senkung der Emissionen
the reduction of emissions (genitive 'der Emissionen' attached to the nominalization)
❌ Ich schreibe meine Bachelorarbeit und ich finde heraus, dass die Temperatur wichtig ist.
Stylistically too colloquial for an academic abstract — a native writer would nominalize.
✅ Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht den Einfluss der Temperatur.
The present paper investigates the influence of temperature. (appropriate academic register)
Key Takeaways
- Nominalstil collapses subordinate clauses into preposition + nominalized verb + genitive: nachdem er ... beendet hatte → nach Beendigung des Studiums.
- The productive machinery is -ung / -heit / -keit suffixes plus Funktionsverbgefüge (light verb + action noun: eine Entscheidung treffen).
- Objects of the original verb become genitive attributes; this builds the long noun chains of academic and official German.
- German formal registers prefer nominalization, the opposite of English plain-language style — but over-nominalizing produces unreadable Beamtendeutsch.
- The C1+ skill is calibration: nominalize enough to sound formal, but dissolve back into verbs whenever clarity demands it.
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Start learning German→Related Topics
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