IX Style and orthography
58 Formal and informal style
The following features should be noted because they are characteristic of formal (or
informal) style (see 121 for formal spoken style):58.1 Formal nominal style
(a) A particular feature of modern German is the use of a noun + verb construction in
which the noun is derived from a verb (see 54 ). For example, die Buchung ‘booking’ is
derived from the verb buchen ‘to book’. The phrase ‘to make a booking’ is, in German,
eine Buchung vor*nehmen. Note that the verb in this kind of construction (here
vor*nehmen) simply has the meaning ‘to carry out the action expressed in the noun’.
This is a feature commonly found in formal written German, but it can also be used in
spoken German, where it sounds extremely formal.(b) Sometimes a compound noun is found as part of this formal style:Er hatte keine Zeit, den Flug zu buchen.
He had no time to book the flight.Er hatte keine Zeit, die Flugbuchung vorzunehmen.
He had no time to make the flight reservation.See^26 (p. 47).
(c) The preference in this formal kind of style for nouns over other word classes
sometimes produces a chain of nouns with, for example, the second noun in the
genitive. Compare:Das Austauschprogramm fördert die deutsch–amerikanischen
Beziehungen.
The exchange programme furthers German–American relations.Das Austauschprogramm dient der Förderung der deutsch–
amerikanischen Beziehungen.
(lit.) The exchange programme serves the furtherance of German–
American relations.See 19.6 (p. 28) for verbs with a dative object.
(d) The verb most commonly found in this kind of formal construction is treffen: