Product and Process

There are several examples where the process and the result of the process have the same name. They usually relate to the creative process.

The act of creation is mostly perspiration.

The fashion house showed off its new creation.

The government building was completed on time.

The building of the pyramids took a hundred years.

The organisation of the workers is continuing.

The union organisation is representing the workers.

Development of the site was banned.

There has been a new development in the case.

We need to differentiate these meanings based on the relations with which they are associated. Sometimes that will leave us with ambiguity.

The building took ten years. (the process, but refers to an object, probably a building)

The building of the airport took ten years. (this could be the building of the airport, or, less likely, a single airport building)

The building of trust took ten years. (process)

Building at the airport was halted. (process)

A building was damaged. (object – both from "a’ and from "damaged")

The building stood empty for ten years. (object)

The government building project was completed. (ambiguous)

The Tax Office building project was completed. (probably the Tax Office building – an object, although it could mean building new offices at several sites)

He was involved in the building of the mall. (process)

He was found in the main building of the mall. (object)

Worker organisation is weak in the eastern states. (process)

The organisation was deregistered. (object)

The organisation is continuing. (process)

The organisation is continuing to attract new members. (object)

The presence or absence of articles is a good indicator. The use of plural form confirms objects.