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](#/lesson/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](#/lesson/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
- Choose _de_ or _het_: _... tijdig aanvragen van een parkeervergunning voorkomt een hoop gedoe._
- Choose _van_ or _door_: _Het beoordelen van uw aanvraag ... de gemeente kan acht weken duren._
- Fix the sentence: _De verlaging van de tarieven gaan op 1 januari in._
- Choose _verhogen_ or _verhogingen_: _Huurders krijgen dit jaar te maken met twee ... van de huur._
Answers
- _Het_: an infinitive used as a noun is a het-word.
- _door_: the doer takes _door_, and _van_ already introduces the object.
- _De verlaging van de tarieven gaat op 1 januari in._ The subject is _de verlaging_, which is singular.
- _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.