Deverbal noun

Deverbal nouns are nouns that are derived from verbs or verb phrases, but that behave grammatically purely as nouns, not as verbs. They are distinct from verbal noun types such as gerunds and infinitives, which behave like verbs within their phrase (although that verb phrase is then used as a noun phrase within the larger sentence).

The formation of deverbal nouns is one of the types of nominalization (noun formation). Examples of deverbal nouns in English include organization (derived from the verb organize), the noun construct /ˈkɒnstɹʌkt/ (from the verb construct /kənˈstɹʌkt/), and discovery (from the verb discover). The -ing form of any verb can serve as a deverbal noun, although the same word form can also be used verbally as a gerund or participle.

Distinction between verbal and deverbal nouns

When the term deverbal noun is used, it is generally contrasted with the term verbal noun: a verbal noun being a word with verbal characteristics used to form a noun phrase, and a deverbal noun being a noun with no grammatical verbal characteristics other than its being derived from a verb. (This is the terminology that is used in this section. However other authors may use the term "verbal noun" to cover both cases.)