Nominalstil is a hallmark of formal and academic German, in which verbs and clauses are compressed into noun phrases. A temporal clause introduced by nachdem can be reduced to a prepositional phrase with a nominalized verb, so that Nachdem die Arbeit beendet wurde, gingen alle nach Hause becomes Nach Beendigung der Arbeit gingen alle nach Hause. A causal clause beginning with weil is similarly rendered as a prepositional phrase with a compound noun, so weil die Kosten gestiegen sind turns into aufgrund des Kostenanstiegs. Even a modal clause introduced by indem can be replaced by a durch phrase: indem man stark investierte becomes durch starke Investitionen. This style produces compact, dense sentences typical of reports, academic writing, and official documents.
Verbalstil does the opposite, expanding nominal phrases back into full clauses with finite verbs. A sentence in Nominalstil such as Die Durchführung der Maßnahme erfolgte planmäßig becomes clearer when unpacked as Die Maßnahme wurde planmäßig durchgeführt. The original construction relies on a Funktionsverbgefüge, or light-verb construction, in which a semantically thin verb like erfolgen combines with a noun whose meaning is more substantial. Verbalstil is preferred in spoken German and in writing aimed at clarity, because it makes the agent and the action explicit. Learning to recognize these compact nominal forms and to rewrite them in verbal style is an essential skill for advanced learners.
Funktionsverbgefüge are particularly common in administrative, legal, and academic registers. The phrase in Betracht ziehen means to consider, as in Wir sollten diese Möglichkeit in Betracht ziehen. Zur Verfügung stellen means to make available, with zur Verfügung stehen serving as its static counterpart meaning to be available. In Anspruch nehmen means to make use of or to take up, and zum Ausdruck bringen means to express, with the passive variant zum Ausdruck kommen meaning to be expressed. In Kauf nehmen implies accepting a disadvantage willingly, while unter Beweis stellen means to demonstrate or to prove. Einfluss nehmen auf governs the accusative and means to exert influence on, and in Frage kommen means to come into consideration or to be eligible, with the related in Frage stellen meaning to call into question. Each of these constructions has a simpler verb equivalent, but the nominal forms are more emphatic and characteristic of formal style.
Beyond these larger syntactic patterns, German vocabulary itself carries different registers that learners must navigate. The verb to receive can be expressed as kriegen (colloquial), bekommen (standard), or erhalten (formal), with erhalten being the only appropriate choice in business correspondence. Similarly, to look can be gucken (colloquial, northern), schauen (standard, southern), or betrachten (formal and contemplative). For broken or damaged, kaputt is colloquial, defekt is technical, and beschädigt is formal and implies only partial damage. Clothing can be called Klamotten (slang), Kleidung (standard), or Bekleidung (formal and commercial). To talk can be reden (colloquial to standard), sprechen (neutral standard), or sich äußern (formal, meaning to make a statement). And for food, the colloquial futtern, the standard Essen, and the formal Mahlzeit or Verpflegung mark progressively higher registers. Choosing the right level for the audience and context is a defining skill of advanced proficiency.