Nominalisaatiogerundi

Nominalisaatiogerundi is a term used in some linguistic discussions to describe the relationship between nominalisation and gerund formation. Broadly, it denotes the process or product of turning a verb into a noun-like form that can function as the subject or object of a sentence, often with a gerund-like morphology. The expression is not a universal label in all grammars, but appears in cross-linguistic descriptions that analyze how languages realize verbal nouns and noun-like clauses.

In practical terms, nominalisaatiogerundi covers cases where a verb is converted into a noun-bearing form that preserves some verbal properties, such as aspect or argument structure, while serving syntactically as a noun. Such forms can take determiners, adjectives, or plural marking, and participate in typical noun-related syntactic positions. The specific realization varies by language: some languages use dedicated nominalisers or gerund-like forms; others rely on participle-based constructions or periphrastic nouns.

Examples commonly cited include English sentences with gerunds, such as Reading every day helps think clearly, where Reading functions as the subject noun phrase, and Finnish examples with -minen forms considered gerundial nominalisations, such as Uiminen on terveellistä (Swimming is healthy). These illustrate how a verb can be nominalised and simultaneously act as the core of a noun phrase.

Nominalisaatiogerundi is thus a descriptive label for a particular interplay between verb-derived nouns and gerund-like forms. It sits among discussions of verbal nouns, deverbal nouns, and non-finite clauses, highlighting how languages encode action as noun-like content. See also nominalisation, gerund, verbal noun.