Nominalization in German

In Brief

German can use an infinitive as a neuter noun—lesen → das Lesen—and an adjective or participle as a noun—schön → das Schöne, reisend → die Reisenden. These forms are capitalized because they function as nouns. Nominalized infinitives are always neuter, while nominalized adjectives and participles take adjective endings that reflect gender, number, case, and the word before them.

Overview

Nominalization means turning a verb, adjective, or another expression into a noun: a word for an action, quality, person, or thing. A noun is a word that can name something and can usually appear with an article such as der, die, or das. German uses nominalization very freely, both in everyday phrases such as beim Essen (“while eating”) and in formal phrases such as nach Abschluss der Prüfung (“after completion of the examination”).

At B2, the main goal is to recognize and produce three highly useful patterns: nominalized infinitives such as das Lesen, nominalized adjectives such as das Schöne, and nominalized adjectives or participles referring to people, such as der Angestellte and die Reisenden. Infinitive here means the dictionary form of a verb, such as lesen or reisen. A participle is a verb form used like an adjective, such as reisend (“travelling”) or angestellt (“employed”).

English often uses an -ing form where German uses a nominalized infinitive: “Reading helps” becomes Lesen hilft. The two systems do not match perfectly, however. German also uses ordinary abstract nouns, clauses, or compounds where English might use an -ing form. Learning the German pattern as a noun phrase—not as a word-for-word replacement—will produce more natural sentences.

How It Works

1. Verbs become neuter nouns

To nominalize an infinitive, keep its form, capitalize it, and treat it as a neuter noun. Its article is therefore das when the nominative or accusative definite article is present.

Verb	Nominalized infinitive	Meaning
lesen	das Lesen	reading; the act of reading
schwimmen	das Schwimmen	swimming; the act of swimming
warten	das Warten	waiting; the act of waiting
kennenlernen	das Kennenlernen	getting to know someone/something
nicht rauchen	das Nichtrauchen	not smoking; abstaining from smoking

The noun normally has no plural because it names an activity as a general process. Like any noun, it can occupy different roles in a sentence and therefore different cases. A case is a form that shows a noun phrase’s job—for example, subject, direct object, possession, or an object after a preposition.

Case or structure	Form	Example
Nominative (subject)	das Lesen	Das Lesen entspannt mich.
Accusative (direct object)	das Lesen	Ich liebe das Lesen.
Dative	dem Lesen	Beim Lesen höre ich Musik.
Genitive	des Lesens	Die Vorteile des Lesens sind bekannt.

The article can disappear. Lesen macht Spaß is a complete sentence, and capitalization still shows that Lesen is a noun. It is especially common to combine a preposition and article:

• bei dem Lesen → beim Lesen (“while reading”)
• zu dem Essen → zum Essen (“for the meal / to eat,” depending on context)
• nach dem Essen (“after eating / after the meal”)
• durch regelmäßiges Üben (“through regular practice”)

If a separable verb is nominalized, its infinitive remains one word: aufstehen → das Aufstehen, teilnehmen → die Teilnahme or, for the direct infinitive pattern, das Teilnehmen. The lexical noun die Teilnahme is usually more idiomatic than das Teilnehmen in many contexts.

2. Adjectives become nouns with adjective endings

A nominalized adjective names a quality, an unspecified thing, or a person without repeating a noun. It is capitalized, but it still follows adjective declension: its ending changes according to the article, gender, number, and case.

For abstract or unspecified things, German commonly uses neuter forms:

Pattern	Example	Meaning
definite article + adjective	das Schöne	the beautiful thing; what is beautiful
indefinite quantity + adjective	etwas Neues	something new
negative quantity + adjective	nichts Wichtiges	nothing important
broad totality + adjective	alles Gute	everything good; all the best
superlative noun phrase	das Beste	the best thing

After etwas, nichts, viel, wenig, and allerlei, the adjective often has -es when it refers to an unspecified thing: etwas Interessantes, nichts Besonderes, viel Gutes. These expressions are neuter singular in meaning.

When the nominalized adjective refers to a person, the implied gender and number matter. The endings are the same as if a noun followed: der kranke Mann → der Kranke; eine kranke Frau → eine Kranke.

Meaning	Nominative	Accusative	Dative
masculine singular	der Reisende	den Reisenden	dem Reisenden
feminine singular	die Reisende	die Reisende	der Reisenden
plural	die Reisenden	die Reisenden	den Reisenden

Context identifies the missing noun. die Deutsche can mean “the German woman,” whereas die Deutschen means “the Germans.” Without an article, endings carry more information: Deutsche reisen gern (“Germans like to travel”), mit Deutschen sprechen (“speak with Germans”).

3. Participles can be nominalized too

Present and past participles can function like adjectives and can therefore be nominalized in the same way.

Source	Nominalized form	Typical meaning
reisen → reisend	der/die Reisende	traveller
studieren → studierend	der/die Studierende	student; person studying
anstellen → angestellt	der/die Angestellte	employee
verletzt	der/die Verletzte	injured person
beteiligt	die Beteiligten	those involved

The capital letter marks noun use, but the ending remains an adjective ending: ein Angestellter, eine Angestellte, zwei Angestellte, mit den Angestellten.

4. Nominalization with suffixes

German also creates established nouns with suffixes. These are lexical nouns: their gender and plural must often be learned with the word. They are related to nominalization but do not follow the simple “capitalize the infinitive” rule.

Base	Noun	Meaning
entscheiden	die Entscheidung	decision
möglich	die Möglichkeit	possibility
frei	die Freiheit	freedom
prüfen	die Prüfung	examination; checking
verbessern	die Verbesserung	improvement

Compare das Entscheiden (the process or act of deciding) with die Entscheidung (a decision or the result). The established noun is often more natural when you mean a countable result.

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Das Lesen ist wichtig.	Reading is important.	Neuter nominalized infinitive with an article.
Regelmäßiges Lesen erweitert den Wortschatz.	Regular reading expands your vocabulary.	The adjective takes an ending before Lesen.
Beim Kochen höre ich gern Podcasts.	I like listening to podcasts while cooking.	beim = bei dem + nominalized infinitive.
Langes Warten macht mich ungeduldig.	Waiting for a long time makes me impatient.	No article; langes signals neuter nominative.
Das Schöne an der Stadt sind die vielen Parks.	The beautiful thing about the city is its many parks.	Neuter nominalized adjective.
Ich möchte dir etwas Wichtiges sagen.	I want to tell you something important.	etwas + nominalized adjective in -es.
Wir wünschen euch alles Gute.	We wish you all the best.	Fixed and very common expression.
Die Angestellten arbeiten heute von zu Hause.	The employees are working from home today.	Plural nominalized past participle.
Ein Reisender fragte nach dem Weg.	A male traveller asked for directions.	Masculine nominative after ein.
Die Reisende wartet am Gleis drei.	The female traveller is waiting at platform three.	Feminine singular.
Bitte helfen Sie den Verletzten.	Please help the injured people.	Dative plural after helfen.
Viele Studierende suchen eine bezahlbare Wohnung.	Many students are looking for an affordable apartment.	Nominalized present participle.
Nach dem Essen gehen wir spazieren.	After eating, we are going for a walk.	The phrase can also mean “after the meal.”
Die Entscheidung fiel uns nicht leicht.	The decision was not easy for us.	Established noun in -ung, not an infinitive noun.

Common Mistakes

1. Forgetting capitalization

• Wrong: Beim lesen lerne ich neue Wörter.
• Right: Beim Lesen lerne ich neue Wörter.
• Why: After beim, the verb form functions as a noun. All German nouns are capitalized.

2. Giving a nominalized infinitive the wrong gender

• Wrong: Die Schwimmen ist gesund.
• Right: Das Schwimmen ist gesund.
• Why: A directly nominalized infinitive is always neuter. Do not confuse it with a related lexical noun such as der Schwimmsport.

3. Treating a nominalized adjective as an unchanging noun

• Wrong: Ich spreche mit der Reisende.
• Right: Ich spreche mit der Reisenden.
• Why: mit requires the dative case, and a nominalized adjective keeps its adjective ending.

4. Using lowercase after etwas or nichts

• Wrong: Wir brauchen etwas neues.
• Right: Wir brauchen etwas Neues.
• Why: Here Neues stands independently for “something new,” so it is a noun. Compare etwas neues Papier, where neues is lowercase because it modifies the stated noun Papier.

5. Confusing an activity with its result

• Awkward: Das Entscheiden des Teams wurde gestern bekannt gegeben.
• Natural: Die Entscheidung des Teams wurde gestern bekannt gegeben.
• Why: das Entscheiden focuses on the process of deciding. A completed, announced result is die Entscheidung.

6. Copying English -ing structures too literally

• Awkward: Das Lernen Deutsch ist schwierig.
• Better: Deutsch zu lernen ist schwierig. / Das Deutschlernen ist schwierig.
• Why: A full English gerund phrase does not automatically map onto das + German infinitive + object. German often prefers a zu-infinitive clause; compact compounds such as Deutschlernen are possible when idiomatic.

Usage Notes

Nominalized infinitives are neutral in register. Beim Frühstücken reden wir wenig and Rauchen verboten are ordinary everyday German. Long chains of abstract nouns, however, are associated with administrative, legal, academic, and technical writing. Compare the direct Wir prüfen den Antrag, bevor wir entscheiden with the denser Nach Prüfung des Antrags erfolgt die Entscheidung. The second is grammatical but more impersonal.

German frequently uses a nominalization after prepositions to compress a clause: während wir warten → beim Warten; nachdem wir gegessen haben → nach dem Essen. This can make writing concise, but the relationship must remain clear. In conversation, a finite clause—a clause with a conjugated verb—is often easier to follow.

Forms such as Studierende and Lehrende refer literally to people engaged in the relevant activity and are widely used as inclusive terms in education and public communication. Actual preferences vary by institution, context, and speaker. Grammatically, these forms decline as nominalized adjectives: ein Studierender, die Studierenden, mit Studierenden.

Some nominalizations have become ordinary fixed nouns and may develop specialized meanings. das Essen can mean the activity “eating,” but very often it means “food” or “a meal.” das Schreiben can mean writing as an activity or a formal letter/document. Context decides.

Beyond the Basics: Clause Compression and Complements

At more advanced levels, nominalization becomes a tool for restructuring whole clauses. The verb’s participants may be expressed through a genitive phrase or prepositional complement:

• Die Mitarbeiter lesen den Bericht. → das Lesen des Berichts durch die Mitarbeiter
• Wir warten auf den Bus. → beim Warten auf den Bus
• Man spricht über das Problem. → das Sprechen über das Problem

A complement is a phrase required or strongly expected by a word, such as auf den Bus after warten. Nominalized infinitives often retain the verb’s preposition: an etwas denken → das Denken an etwas; über etwas sprechen → das Sprechen über etwas. Handling longer complements systematically belongs to the C1 topic of verbal nouns with complements.

Nominal style also changes emphasis. A verb-centered sentence usually foregrounds people and actions: Die Firma verbessert den Service. A noun-centered version foregrounds the process: Die Verbesserung des Service hat Priorität. Neither is inherently better. Use verbs for clarity and movement; use nouns when the action itself is the topic, when you need a compact heading, or when formal register calls for it.

Finally, not every conceivable nominalized infinitive sounds equally natural. German grammar allows productive formations, but established nouns often win: die Untersuchung is generally more idiomatic than das Untersuchen when referring to a medical examination; die Ankunft is the normal noun for an arrival, while das Ankommen emphasizes the experience or process of arriving.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-way sets. Take a verb such as entscheiden and write a clause, a process noun, and an established noun: Wir entscheiden heute → das Entscheiden → die Entscheidung. Note the change in meaning.
2. Mark the signals while reading. Highlight capitalized infinitives after beim, zum, nach dem, and durch. Circle adjective endings in forms such as den Reisenden or etwas Neues.
3. Rewrite in both directions. Turn Beim Arbeiten höre ich Musik into Während ich arbeite, höre ich Musik, then reverse the transformation. This trains meaning and style rather than capitalization alone.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Definite Articles (Nominative) — provides the basic der, die, das system used with nominalized forms.
• Next steps: Verbal Nouns with Complements — develops structures such as das Lesen des Buches and beim Warten auf den Bus.