Thread: Verbal nouns

Is there a pattern method of producing a noun from a Russian verb?
In other words, can a noun be made from (almost) any verb? Or is it unnecessary?
This would be something similar to the English gerund noun:

The dog's barking awoke the baby.
My reading has improved.

An example in Russian that may apply here:
лаять -> лай

Many thanks from a struggling self learner of Russian.

A verb and a corresponding noun are in most cases somewhat alike:
играть - игра
драться - драка
петь - пение
любить - любовь
стучать - стук
etc.

But still it's not a matter of adding a standard suffix or ending, so you can't just "generate" a noun and have to learn it.

There are three main ways to produce verbal nouns (http://www.spelling.spb.ru/rosenthal/alpha/r213.htm, see below) but they are not absolute. It means that application of each way does not garantee you a correct result. You still neeed a vocabulary.

1)при помощи суффикса -ни-е (-ани-е, -ени-е), например: бетонирование, рыхление, разгосударствление, анкетирование, вычитание, сложение, согласование, управление;
2)при помощи суффикса -к-а, например: кладка, шпаклевка
3)бессуффиксным способом, например: вылет, жим, обжиг, промер, сброс;

Sometimes two or more variants exist simultaneously.