Remove hidden verbs (zombie nouns) from your writing
Hidden verbs are one of the most common problems we see in non-fiction writing. By learning how to identify and avoid using hidden verbs, you’ll instantly improve the quality of your writing. And your readers will thank you for it!
What are hidden verbs?
The technical term for hidden verbs is ‘nominalisations’. Nominalisation are nouns formed from verbs, or sometimes adjectives. They are called hidden verbs because they disguise the verb as a noun. They are also known as ‘zombie nouns’ because they suck life out of speech — replacing words (verbs) we understand with abstract nouns we don’t.
Academic, legal and government writing is often cluttered with hidden verbs or zombie nouns. Here’s an example of some writing with the them highlighted:
A recycling project investigation is being led by Council officials in partnership with relevant government departments. This investigation will be used for the preparation of a business case with the aim of securing the Council’s approval at its next meeting. The business case will describe recycling-scheme affordability and household-collection feasibility. Subject to stakeholder feedback and Council approval, the project will proceed to implementation in the New Year. The project has good alignment with the government’s waste-reduction priority. Risks to the project’s achievement will be monitored during implementation through a risk-monitoring process.
By converting plain words and phrases into zombie nouns, the writer has created several problems:
- The writing sounds pompous and abstract.
- The writing is hard to understand.
- The writing uses complex terms that may be understood differently by different people (even within the same organisation).
Three steps for removing hidden verbs or zombie nouns
Have a look at your organisation’s documents, manuals or websites to see if this problem exists where you work. If it does, don’t worry — zombie nouns are easily fixed!
Step 1
Take a piece of writing and list all the hidden verbs or zombie nouns you can find.
Step 2
List the corresponding verb or adjective that you used to make each zombie noun. Here’s a list of the words from our example paragraph:
| Zombie noun | Original verb or adjective |
|---|---|
| Investigation | To investigate |
| Preparation | To prepare |
| Aim | To aim for |
| Approval | To approve |
| Recycling-scheme affordability | Affordable (adjective) |
| Household-collection feasibility | Feasible (adjective) |
| Feedback | To feed back or give feedback |
| Implementation | To implement |
| Alignment | To align with |
| Waste-reduction priority | To prioritise |
| Achievement | To achieve |
| Risk-monitoring process | To monitor |
Step 3
Rewrite your work using the original verbs and adjectives.
Here’s the same example, but this time we’ve replaced those hidden nouns with their original verbs or adjectives.
Council officials and relevant government departments are investigating ways to improve recycling. They will then prepare a business case for the Council to approve at its next meeting. The business case will explain how to make recycling affordable and whether it’s feasible to collect recycling from households. If the Council approves the business case, and stakeholders support the project, the Council will implement it in the New Year. The Government has prioritised reducing waste, and this project aligns with that goal. As the Council implements the project, it will monitor any risks that could prevent it achieving its objectives.
Capire is a leading New Zealand writing consultancy for governments, NGOs and international development agencies. We help organisations transform their complexity into plain English. Find out more about how we can help your organisation or sign up for our newsletter to get more tips to improve your writing.
