Nominalization of phrasal verbs

The question of which nominalizations may apply to phrasal verbs is a fascinating one. Of the thirty-seven verbs which function as first element in the great majority of phrasal verbs, only two (carry and round) are of Romance origin. As we have seen, most nominalizing suffixes are of Romance origin, used predominantly on Romance verbs. And a phrasal verb consists of two or three elements—a verb and one or two prepositions. Where would a nominalizing suffix attach—to the verb, or to the preposition(s), or to both?

This is not an easy topic to study. Phrasal verbs are most used in colloquial speech, and nominalizations based on them even more so. The nominalizations are generally not included in dictionaries. The linguist simply has to examine colloquial speech, augmented by their own judgements (if a native speaker).

Just two nominalizing suffixes (both of Germanic origin) are used with phrasal verbs. Agent-nom’s derived with. There are also a number of Unit-nom’s involving the bare form of the phrasal verb (with no suffix) and a few Activity-Nom’s involving -ing.