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Nominalized Verbs

·          Nominalization is the process of producing a noun from another part of speech. This post is about nouns formed from verbs. ·          Gerunds The least-disguised nominalized verb is the gerund : the present participle form of the verb used as a noun: ·          Hiking can be arduous. Writing is not for sissies. Loitering is not permitted. ·          Agent Nouns Many nouns that end in -or are derived from verbs; they denote the actor or agent of the verb from which they come: ·          actor: one who acts inventor: one who invents sculptor: one who sculpts governor: one who governs translator: one who translates ·          Note: The verbs in many -or agent nouns are not immediately recognizable because they correspond to Latin verbs, not English. For example, the rec- in rector is from the past participial stem of regere , “to rule.” In modern usage, a rector is a member of the Anglican clergy who has charge of a parish. Historically, a rec