The French Writing Trick B2 Learners Miss: From ‘He Decided’ to ‘The Decision’

You’ve reached a comfortable B2 level in French. You can navigate conversations, understand news articles, and write emails without major grammatical catastrophes. Yet, something feels… off. You write a paragraph, check it twice - the verb conjugations are perfect, the adjective agreements are flawless, the vocabulary is correct. But when you read it back, it sounds suspiciously like English wearing a French disguise. It's functional, but it lacks a certain elegance, a certain je ne sais quoi.

What if I told you there’s a specific, learnable technique that distinguishes native-level writing from proficient learner writing? It’s a structural shift that makes your prose denser, more formal, and undeniably more French. This technique is called nominalization (la nominalisation).

Mastering this single concept is one of the fastest ways to elevate your writing from sounding merely correct to sounding truly sophisticated. Let’s break it down. 🧐

What is Nominalization, Exactly?

At its core, nominalization is the art of using a noun to express an idea that could also be conveyed with a verb or an adjective. It’s about transforming an action or a quality into a thing.

Think about it in English first:

• Verb-based: "The committee decided to approve the project. This surprised everyone."
• Noun-based (Nominalized): "The committee's decision to approve the project was a surprise to everyone."

See the difference? The second sentence is more concise and feels more formal. French uses this structure all the time, especially in news, academic writing, and formal correspondence. By not using it, you're missing out on a key part of the language's natural rhythm and style.

Let's look at some French examples to see this in action.

From Verb to Noun: Condensing Your Actions

This is the most common form of nominalization. You take the main action of a clause and turn it into the subject or object of a new sentence.

Example 1: The Simple Way

Le gouvernement a augmenté les impôts. Cela a provoqué des manifestations. (The government raised taxes. This caused protests.)

This is perfectly correct. A B1 or B2 learner would be proud to write this. But here’s the upgrade:

Example 1: The Sophisticated Way

L'augmentation des impôts par le gouvernement a provoqué des manifestations. (The increase in taxes by the government caused protests.)

One fluid sentence instead of two choppy ones. The action (augmenter) has become the subject (l'augmentation).

Example 2: The Simple Way

L'entreprise va construire une nouvelle usine. Ils l'ont annoncé hier. (The company will build a new factory. They announced it yesterday.)

Example 2: The Sophisticated Way

L'annonce de la construction d'une nouvelle usine a eu lieu hier. (The announcement of the construction of a new factory took place yesterday.)

This is peak French writing. Two verbs have been turned into nouns, creating a dense and informative sentence that flows beautifully.

From Adjective to Noun: Capturing Qualities

You can also nominalize adjectives, turning a description into a concept.

Example 1: The Simple Way

Le sentier était difficile. À cause de ça, la randonnée était lente. (The path was difficult. Because of that, the hike was slow.)

Example 1: The Sophisticated Way

La difficulté du sentier a causé la lenteur de la randonnée. (The difficulty of the path caused the slowness of the hike.)

Again, we see conciseness and a more formal tone. Difficile becomes la difficulté, and lente becomes la lenteur.

How to Form These Nouns: Your Mini-Toolkit 🛠️

Okay, you're convinced. But how do you know which noun corresponds to which verb or adjective? While some have to be memorized, there are very common patterns you can learn. Here are a few of the most frequent suffixes:

For Verbs:

• -tion / -ation: The most common one. Usually for verbs ending in -er.
  • créer → la création (creation)
  • augmenter → l'augmentation (increase)
  • modifier → la modification (modification)
  • disparaître → la disparition (disappearance)
• -ment: Another very common suffix.
  • changer → le changement (change)
  • payer → le paiement (payment)
  • investir → l'investissement (investment)
• -age: Often used for more concrete actions.
  • passer → le passage (passing, passage)
  • stocker → le stockage (storage)
  • nettoyer → le nettoyage (cleaning)
• No Suffix (or irregular): Sometimes, the noun is the verb stem itself or is irregular.
  • finir → la fin (the end)
  • choisir → le choix (the choice)
  • ouvrir → l'ouverture (the opening)
  • vendre → la vente (the sale)

For Adjectives:

• -té / -ité: A very common pattern.
  • beau → la beauté (beauty)
  • difficile → la difficulté (difficulty)
  • rapide → la rapidité (speed)
  • clair → la clarté (clarity)
• -eur:
  • grand → la grandeur (size, greatness)
  • lent → la lenteur (slowness)
  • doux → la douceur (softness)
• -ise:
  • bête → la bêtise (stupidity, foolishness)
  • franc → la franchise (frankness)

This isn't an exhaustive list, but internalizing these patterns gives you a powerful toolkit for upgrading your sentences on the fly.

The Real Challenge: From Knowledge to Instinct

Reading this article, you probably understand the concept. You can see why la décision du gouvernement is more elegant than le gouvernement a décidé. The real problem isn't understanding; it's implementation.

How do you get your brain to do this automatically? How do you make it an instinct rather than a slow, mental calculation while you're trying to write?

This is the classic B2 gap: the chasm between passive knowledge and active production. You can't cross it just by reading grammar rules or making flashcards of décider → la décision. Your brain needs a different kind of workout. It needs a cycle of:

1. Exposure: Seeing these sophisticated structures used naturally in compelling content.
2. Production: Being forced to create your own sentences, with the freedom to fail.
3. Feedback: Getting immediate, detailed corrections that explain why one form is better than another.

Manually creating this cycle is incredibly difficult. You have to find level-appropriate texts, find a native speaker willing to correct your writing in detail, and then turn their feedback into a structured learning plan. It’s exhausting.

Supercharging the Cycle with the Right Tool

This is where technology can fundamentally change the learning process. Instead of struggling to piece together this cycle, you can use a tool designed to do it for you. This is precisely why we built Toritark - to bridge that gap between knowing and doing.

Here’s how it automates the path to mastering concepts like nominalization:

1. Personalized, Context-Rich Exposure: You can’t just read random articles hoping to find examples. In Toritark, you start by choosing a topic that actually interests you - maybe “a debate about technology” or “planning a city event.” The AI then generates a unique, short story in French, tailored to your B2 level. These stories are crafted to include the kind of sophisticated sentence structures you need to learn, presenting them in a natural, memorable context.

2. Active Reading and Comprehension: As you read the story, you'll encounter sentences like, “La préparation de l'événement a nécessité des semaines de travail.” If you're unsure, a long-press gives you an instant translation, keeping you in the flow. When you see a word like préparation, you can tap it to save it directly to your vocabulary list. This isn't just a random word; it's a word you've seen used perfectly in context.

3. The Magic Step: Production and Granular Feedback: This is where the real learning ignites. After reading, Toritark prompts you to retell the story in your own words. This is your sandbox. You might write, “Ils ont préparé l'événement pendant des semaines.” That’s a great B2 sentence! But Toritark's AI feedback is designed to push you to a C1 level. It will analyze your text and provide an incredible breakdown:

• It gives you an overall score and a detailed analysis of your Grammar, Vocabulary, Spelling, and Completeness.
• It shows your text side-by-side with a corrected or more sophisticated version.
• Crucially, it provides actionable explanations. It might highlight your sentence and suggest: “This is grammatically correct. For a more formal and concise style, consider using nominalization: ‘La préparation de l'événement...’”

This isn't just a red X. It's a personal tutor, available 24/7, showing you exactly how to apply the advanced grammar you’ve been studying.

4. Contextual Reinforcement: Those words you saved, like préparation or décision, are then used to create fill-in-the-blank exercises. But instead of isolated drills, Toritark places the blank in the original sentence from the story. You’ll have to complete: “La ______ de l'événement a nécessité des semaines de travail.” This cements not just the word, but its entire grammatical function and context in your mind.

Don't let your French writing stay stuck in a literal translation of your native language. The elegance and flow you're looking for come from mastering structures like nominalization. Stop just memorizing the rules and start an active learning cycle of reading, writing, and getting instant, intelligent feedback.

This is how you close the gap. This is how you start writing like a native. 🚀