SFL/METU Fall 2020

DBE
P&NHO
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE GROUP

PARAPHRASING AND NOMINALIZATION

WHAT IS PARAPHRASING?

Paraphrasing is the act in which a statement or remark is explained in other words or in another
way in order to clarify the meaning.
When you define a word, you are actually paraphrasing it. For example, “to appear or come out
from somewhere” is a paraphrase of the verb “emerge.”

A paraphrase is...
 your own interpretation of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented
in a new form,
 one of the appropriate ways to borrow from a source when accompanied by accurate
documentation.

WHY DO YOU NEED TO PARAPHRASE?

You need to gain the necessary language skills to rewrite sentences by using a variety of appropriate
language forms in order to:

 answer certain comprehension questions in reading and listening,

 take notes,
 fill in information-gap questions,
 understand and answer True/False questions,
 and summarize information from listening and reading, and thus produce writings.

HOW TO PARAPHRASE
There is a variety of ways that you can re-write a sentence by keeping to the original meaning as
closely as possible. (There may be a slight shift in emphasis and focus.) You can paraphrase by
changing the word order, combining two or more sentences, and using synonyms and antonyms,
different forms of language and nominalization.

Study the examples below and notice the methods that are used:

 From the latter half of the 19th century into the present, assimilation and extermination to gain
dominion over Aborigines’ land have been advocated by the supporters of social Darwinism.

Since the 1850s, social Darwinism provided support for the assimilation and annihilation of
Aborigines in order to gain control over their territories.

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 Endorphins are natural painkillers secreted when the body is suffering from stress or injury.

Endorphins are natural painkillers that are released when the body is subjected to stress and
injury.
The body releases some natural painkillers called endorphins when it is subjected to stress and
injury.

 Anthropology aims to study its subjects without altering their way of life.

The purpose of anthropology is to study its subjects without interfering with their lifestyles.
Anthropologists try not to change their subjects’ lifestyles while studying them.

 Paraphrasing sentences using prepositional phrases

prepositional phrase + noun / noun phrase / Ving

To introduce a reason, we can use because of, due to and owing to.
e.g.
 Because the language is constantly changing, it is difficult to regulate.
Because of/Due to/Owing to the constant change in language, it is difficult to regulate.
(noun phrase)
 Many students feel stressed because they are getting low grades.
Because of/Due to/Owing to their low grades, many students feel stressed.
(noun phrase)
The reason clause (dependent clause) can follow the independent clause. However, this does not
change the meaning.
e.g.
 Many students feel stressed because of/due to/owing to getting low grades.

 Paraphrasing sentences using adverb clauses of concession:

Other ways to introduce a concession sentence include using despite and in spite of. They are used
with nouns, noun phrases or gerunds.
e.g.
 Although/Even though/Though he is good at reading skills, he didn’t do so well on the test.
 He didn’t do so well in the test although/even though/though he is good at reading skills.
 Despite being good at reading skills,
In spite of his good reading skills, he didn’t do so well on the test.
Despite having good reading skills,
(noun phrase)

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 NOMINALIZATION
Nominalization is a term that refers to the process of making a noun or noun phrase from a clause,
verb, or adjective.
Read the following examples and notice how the language and form change while the meaning in
the sentence remains almost the same. However, there is likely to be a slight shift in emphasis and
focus, depending on how the writer wants to deliver the idea to the reader.
VERB →NOUN

1. Garlic has long been used as a natural antiseptic to prevent contagious diseases.
 Garlic has been used for a long time as a natural antiseptic in the prevention of contagious
diseases.
 A natural antiseptic, garlic, has a long history in the prevention of contagious diseases.
 The use of garlic as a natural antiseptic in the prevention of contagious diseases dates back to
the earliest times.
2. Citizens should make joint efforts to create a better environment.
 Citizens should make joint efforts in the creation of a better environment.
 The creation of a better environment depends on the joint efforts of citizens.
 The joint efforts of citizens are important in the creation of a better environment.

NOUN →VERB

1. Although industrial sales have decreased, there has been a significant increase in the
manufacture of metal products.
 More metal products have been manufactured despite the decrease in industrial sales.
 Companies that manufacture metal products have increased their production at a time when
industrial sales are going down.
2. The use of advanced materials in sports equipment leads to better performance.
 Using advanced materials in sports equipment can improve performance.
 Performance can be improved when advanced materials are used in sports equipment.
 It is possible to enhance performance by using advanced materials in sports equipment.

TASK 1: Fill in the blanks with the noun forms of the verbs and adjectives and the verb forms of
the nouns. Use a dictionary if you need to.

VERB NOUN NOUN VERB

1. add addition 1. competition ____________
2. affect effect 2. decoration ____________
3. apply ____________ 3. discussion ____________
4. deny ____________ 4. evaluation ____________
5. discover ____________ 5. graduation ____________
6. explore ____________ 6. imagination ____________
7. invite ____________ 7. insistence ____________
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 8. organize ____________ 8. occupation ____________
9. perform ____________ 9. permission ____________
10. reduce ____________ 10. repetition ____________
11. solve ____________ 11. response ____________
12. walk ____________ 12. sleep ____________

ADJECTIVE NOUN
1. creative creativity
2. difficult difficulty
3. easy ____________
4. good ____________
5. hesitant ____________
6. high ____________
7. long ____________
8. resistant ____________
9. responsible ____________
10. successful ____________
11. wide ____________
12. wise ____________

TASK 2: Use the noun form of the verbs below to fill in the spaces in the sentences. Use each verb
only once.
suggest revise discuss explode explain
depress hesitate demonstrate attract perform
1. The idea of working for state-owned enterprises has little ____________ for young people
nowadays.
2. After some ____________ between music and philosophy, he decided to make the latter the
serious work of his life. 
3. He couldn’t give the court any ____________ for his strange behavior.
4. Dean laughed at first at his wife's ____________, but the more he thought about it,
the better the idea sounded.
5. The students decided to hold a ____________ against the higher fees.
6. On Saturday, we had a long ____________ about where to go for our summer holiday.
7. Many unemployed people experience feelings of isolation and ____________.
8. The ____________ of the bomb was heard several kilometers away.
9. If you don’t do more ____________ before the exam, you’re not going to pass the exam.
10. The audience warmly applauded when the ____________ came to an end.

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TASK 3: Fill in the blanks with the noun forms of the verbs and adjectives given in the box. Be
careful, there are more verbs and adjectives than you need.

successful easy responsible difficult revise

perform occupy apply solve permit

It is the (1) ____________ of every teacher to contribute as much as possible to the

effective learning of students. Teachers can help them to learn with (2) ____________. This

can be possible through the (3) ____________, or use, of different methods. One of the

most well-known methods is regular (4) ____________. By regularly going over the covered

subjects again and again, students can consolidate the new knowledge that they have

acquired and achieve academic (5) ____________. This is a technique that would be helpful

for all students. However, there may be some students in every class who have special

learning (6) ____________ such as poor concentration or lack of interest. Such problems

affect the students’ (7) ____________ negatively and may require special ways of coping. It

is, therefore, important for teachers to know what (8) ____________ to implement in order

to tackle such issues.

TASK 4. Practice rewriting the following sentences by keeping as close to the original meaning as
possible. Use the prompts in parentheses and change the underlined parts (e.g. nouns to verbs,
adjectives to nouns, etc.).
e.g. The consumption of fizzy drinks among teens has steadily decreased in the past three years.
a) Teens have been consuming fewer fizzy drinks over the past three years.
( fewer / consume / over)
b) There has been a steady decrease in the consumption of fizzy drinks for three years.
( steady decrease / for)

1. It is advisable for teachers to show encouragement to students while they are practicing
listening.
______________________________________________________________________________.
(should / during)
2. Because there were rigid traffic rules, a long tailback formed on the motorway.
a) ____________________________________________________________________________.
(due to)
b) ____________________________________________________________________________.
(as a result)
3. People should not make the assumption that disabled people seek help.
______________________________________________________________________________.

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4. Increased energy efficiency has provided people with significant benefits over the past 20 years.
These are lower greenhouse emissions and decreased water use.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
(benefits/which)
5. There has been a serious reduction in the number of fatal plane accidents in the past few decades
because air-traffic control and pilot training have improved.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
(because of)
6. Bridge construction involves huge projects that employ several engineering disciplines. These are
geological, civil, electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
(which)
7. If television didn’t influence our society, life would be quite different from what it is today.
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
(influence / without)
8. Although international efforts are being made to find a peaceful solution to the political crisis
there, the war still continues in the region.
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
(despite)
9. People have been migrating continuously from rural to urban areas. As a result, agricultural
output has greatly decreased.
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
(as a result of)

TASK 5: Read the first sentence in each exercise; then, complete the second sentence keeping to
the meaning of the first one.

1. Our teacher does not use classical methods. Instead, she always creates an interesting context
to introduce new topics.
Instead of _____________________________________________________________________.
2. Some careers traditionally seem to attract more women than men. For example, more women
prefer to become teachers or nurses than men.
Some careers such as
____________________________________________________________.
3. Over the last few years, the fastest-growing area in book production has been in materials for
teaching English to foreign students because people's interest in learning English has been
increasing worldwide.
Over the last few years, the fastest-growing area in book production has been in materials for
teaching English to foreign students because of _______________________________________
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 _____________________________________________________________________________.
4. The problem of violence is getting out of control even though the authorities have taken serious
measures to stop it.
The problem of violence is getting out of control despite _______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.

5. The learning gap among the people of different countries is widening. Some countries are short
of teachers, which is making the problem worse.
The learning gap among the people of different countries is widening. The problem has become
worse due to __________________________________________________________________.
6. Because its product performed poorly, the manufacturer was unable to convince any of its
customers to buy it.
Owing to ________________________________________, the manufacturer was unable to
convince any of its customers to buy it.
7. He refused to attend classes. As a result, he was dismissed from school.
His _______________________________ resulted in his _______________________________.
8. Consumers should not immediately assume that a product is safe to use when they see the
label “natural” on a cleaning product.
Consumers should avoid making immediate assumptions about __________________________
based only upon a label marked “natural.”
9. The number of unemployed people rose and the government failed to reduce the rate of
inflation. As a result, it lost the support of the public.
The __________________________________________________________________________
resulted in the _________________________________________________________________.
10. Although Megan and Elizabeth are identical twins and have exactly the same DNA, they have
suffered from different health problems.
In spite of ______________________________________________________, Megan and
Elizabeth have suffered from different health problems.
11. All developed countries now collect detailed statistics of births, marriages and deaths.
Moreover, every few years, a census of the population is conducted.
In addition to ______________________________________________________, all developed
countries ______________________________________________________________________.