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Re: Verbal nouns

From:DOUGLAS KOLLER <laokou@...>
Date:Wednesday, October 4, 2000, 0:35
From: "Jörg Rhiemeier"

> The nomen actionis is simply the upper-cased infinitive: > > erbrechen - to vomit > das Erbrechen - the act of vomiting > > You are right, though, that it is of neuter gender. > > But the word "vomit" in the sentence "The vomit is on my shoe" is > a nomen productis (a noun referring to a product of an action). > In German, this is ususally the past participle treated as a noun: > > Das Erbrochene ist auf meinem Schuh.
Informative post, but if Gymnasium teachers actually use terms like "nomen actionis" and "nomen productis" in class, I could easily envision German teens hightailing it to the restroom for an illicit smoke. Kou