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Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? Verbs with dependent prepositions: depend on, consist of

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches verbs with dependent prepositions through the Three Sisters: corn, beans and squash, planted together by many Native nations.

Grammar
Verbs with a fixed preposition, from depend on and consist of to protect something from, with a noun, a pronoun or -ing after it and the preposition last in questions.
Topic
The Three Sisters garden of the Haudenosaunee and other Native nations, with words such as stalk, vine, husk and moist.
Activities
Riley's story to read, a studio talk and a listener's question to hear, self-checking drills, a survey chat, steps to a survey report and a question wheel.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: what's growing?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
    • Study the words: the Three Sisters gardenVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: three sisters, one garden

    • Look at the photo: one mound, three sistersPictureUnlock
    • Read Riley's story on the show's websiteArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: a garden in the studio?

    • Listen to Riley and DariusListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to The Listener's Take: BarrettListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: depend on, benefit from

    • Study the scheme: verbs with prepositionsGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the present simple and the prepositionFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table in the present simple: a noun or -ingFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: the food-of-the-future survey

    • Choose the right replies: Riley's food surveyChatTry it
    • Put the words in the correct order: survey questionsUnjumbleUnlock
    • Sort the words into the correct columns: how many of us?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a model survey reportChoose the optionUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answer: run the survey in classSpin the wheelUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositionFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the sentence with the same meaningQuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Kiara's survey reportDrag and dropUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Darius answers BarrettDrag and dropUnlock

34 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Gardening vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • stalk
  • vine
  • husk
  • cob
  • moist
  • raccoon
  • squirrel
  • succotash
  • survey

Grammar: verbs with dependent prepositions

Some verbs always take the same preposition, so learners learn the verb and its preposition as one unit: depend on, never depend of. A garden where each plant helps the others is full of these verbs: the beans rely on the corn, next year's corn benefits from the beans, and the squash protects the soil from the sun.

Depend on, benefit from: verbs with prepositions

Some verbs always take the same preposition. Learn the verb and its preposition together: depend on (not: depend of).

Nine verbs and their partners

Depend on, rely on, consist of, benefit from, belong to, result in and care about each come with one preposition. Each verb has one fixed partner, and the meaning comes from the pair: consist of lists the parts of something, result in gives an effect.

Verb + preposition

Verb + prepositionMeaningExample
depend onto need someone or somethingThe beans depend on the corn.
rely onto trust someone or something to helpBean vines rely on tall stalks.
consist ofto be made of these partsThe Three Sisters consist of corn, beans and squash.
benefit fromto get something good fromNext year's corn benefits from the beans.
protect something fromto keep something safe fromSquash leaves protect the soil from the sun.
provide someone withto give someone what they needThe corn provides the beans with a place to climb.
belong toto be someone'sThis planter belongs to Darius.
result into cause; to make something happenToo much sun results in dry soil.
care aboutto think something is importantRiley cares about good sources.

In the garden and in the studio

  • The Three Sisters consist of corn, beans and squash.
  • The bean vines depend on the tall corn stalks.
  • Next year's corn benefits from the nutrients in the soil.
  • The big squash leaves protect the soil from the sun.
  • Darius cares about checking his sources now.
  • Barrett's campus garden consists of six raised beds, a shed and a hoe.

A noun, a pronoun or -ing after it

After the preposition comes a noun (depend on the corn), a pronoun (rely on it), a question word + a sentence (care about where your food comes from) or a verb in -ing. A verb after a preposition takes -ing: benefit from planting, not benefit from plant.

What comes after the preposition?

After the prepositionExamples
a nounThe beans depend on the corn. Riley cares about sources.
a pronoun: me, you, him, her, it, us, themThe vines climb the stalk. They rely on it.
a verb + -ingFarmers benefit from planting the three together. I care about eating fresh food.
what / where / how + a sentenceIt depends on what you plant. Do you care about where your food comes from?

-ing after the preposition

After a preposition, a verb takes -ing: Farmers benefit from planting beans. (Not: benefit from plant beans, not: benefit from to plant beans.) Do you care about eating fresh food? (Not: care about to eat.)

Protect and provide: the object in the middle

Two verbs put their object before the preposition: protect the soil from the sun, provide the beans with a place to climb. Provide has a second pattern with for: The corn provides a place to climb for the beans.

Something in the middle

Two verbs put their object before the preposition: protect the soil from the sun, provide the beans with a place to climb. With provide, you can also say: The corn provides a place to climb for the beans.

Questions end with the preposition

In a wh- question, the preposition stays with its verb at the end: What does your planter consist of? Who does this hoe belong to? A short answer can stop after the verb: Do you eat insects? It depends.

Questions: the preposition goes at the end

What does your planter consist of? Who does this hoe belong to? What do you care about? A short answer can stop after the verb: “Do you eat insects?” “It depends.”

The wrong partner

Most mistakes borrow another preposition: depend of for depend on, consist in for consist of when you list parts, benefit of for benefit from, and protect the soil of the sun for protect the soil from the sun.

  • The beans depend of the corn.

    The beans depend on the corn.

    depend on, rely on (not: depend of, depends from, rely in)

  • The Three Sisters consist in corn, beans and squash.

    The Three Sisters consist of corn, beans and squash.

    the parts of something: consist of

  • The corn benefits of the beans.

    The corn benefits from the beans.

    benefit from

  • The leaves protect the soil of the sun.

    The leaves protect the soil from the sun.

    protect something from

More lessons on this grammar: Prepositions lessons and exercises

Try the dependent prepositions exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 19 auto-checked exercises
  • 6 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • use verbs with their fixed preposition: The beans depend on the corn. The Three Sisters consist of corn, beans and squash.
  • put the object in the middle where the verb needs it: Squash leaves protect the soil from the sun. The corn provides the beans with a place to climb.
  • use -ing after the preposition: Farmers benefit from planting the three together. Riley cares about checking facts.
  • end questions with the preposition: What does your planter consist of? Who does this hoe belong to?
  • ask survey questions and report the results: Most of us care about where our food comes from.

Lesson 11 is the third lesson of Food for the future, unit 3 of English B1.2 · Changemakers. It goes beyond A1.2 lesson 27, which taught listen to, look at and wait for, and the adjectives with prepositions of A2.2 lesson 28 (good at, afraid of). Lesson 12 follows with phrasal verbs with up, away and out. In a Three Sisters garden, every plant depends on, relies on or protects another, so the verbs describe the topic itself.

Students open boxes of questions about gardens and everyday food, then learn twelve words, from depend on to succotash, with pictures and audio. They read Riley's story about the Three Sisters, then hear Darius show Riley his planter in the studio and Barrett, a college student from New York, ask about a raised bed, both AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and four self-checking drills, among them a table of verbs with a noun or -ing. The speaking chapter turns the survey task into steps: Riley's survey chat, questions to order, results to sort, a report with gaps and a wheel of questions for the class.

Every homework task checks itself, ten in all: a match, an anagram, a gap-fill and a memory game on the words; a choice of prepositions, gaps for the missing preposition, word order and a same-meaning quiz; then Kiara's survey report and Darius's answer to Barrett, both completed by dragging words.

Grammar:
verbs with prepositions · dependent prepositions · depend on / rely on · consist of · benefit from + -ing · protect from / provide with
Topic:
the Three Sisters · Haudenosaunee · Onondaga Nation · Native American farming · gardening · food of the future · surveys · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Play preposition ping-pong: say depend, and the class answers on; say consist, and they answer of. Speed up until the pairs come without thinking.
  • Before the reading, show corn, beans and squash or pictures of them, and ask how the three could help each other in one garden. Students read to check their ideas.
  • Run the survey for real: after the wheel questions, each group reports one result with Most of us…, A few of us… or None of us…, and the class checks every preposition.
  • Collect mistakes during the survey, then write three on the board without names, such as It depends of the vegetables, and let the class fix them.

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The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, about people and ideas that changed things: start-ups, future cities, food, memory, customs, art, volunteers and adventure. The podcast team of English B1.1 is back for a season called Changemakers. Learners use the second conditional, the passive, reported speech, the past perfect, relative clauses and verb patterns, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Start-up stories

    the second conditional, If I were you, the first vs the second conditional, also, too, as well and besides

    1. Lesson 1The garage where Silicon Valley beganThe second conditional for imagined situations
    2. Lesson 2Would you sell lemonade to save bees?Second conditional questions and If I were you
    3. Lesson 3Pitch it to the Sharks!First vs second conditional: a real plan or a dream?
    4. Lesson 4A bakery that hires anyone?Adding ideas: also, too, as well, either and besides

  2. Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow

    the passive in the present simple and the past simple, with modals, and in the present perfect and present continuous

    1. Lesson 5Can you cross a city without going outside?The present simple passive
    2. Lesson 6A park on top of a freeway?The past simple passive
    3. Lesson 7Can a desert city catch the rain?The passive with modals
    4. Lesson 8Can an old railroad become a park?The present perfect and present continuous passive

  3. Unit 3 Food for the future

    comparative and superlative adverbs, the future passive, verbs with prepositions, phrasal verbs with up, away and out

    1. Lesson 9Why did Carver tell farmers to plant peanuts?Comparative and superlative adverbs
    2. Lesson 10Lettuce from space?The future passive with will be
    3. Lesson 11 · you're hereWhy do corn, beans and squash grow together?Verbs with dependent prepositions
    4. Lesson 12What happens to dining-hall leftovers?Phrasal verbs with up, away and out

  4. Unit 4 Memory and learning

    reported statements with say and tell, tense changes, time and place words, reported questions, requests and commands

    1. Lesson 13Can you train your memory?Reported statements with say and tell
    2. Lesson 14He got better but never rememberedReported statements about the past
    3. Lesson 15Can a TV show teach the alphabet?Reported questions
    4. Lesson 16Can you learn a new skill at 70?Reported requests and commands

  5. Unit 5 Customs and manners

    degree adverbs such as quite and pretty, the past perfect, the past perfect vs the past simple, make vs do

    1. Lesson 17To tip or not to tip?Adverbs of degree before adjectives and adverbs
    2. Lesson 18They'd already started without me!The past perfect: had + past participle
    3. Lesson 19What should you do at a powwow?Past perfect vs past simple
    4. Lesson 20How do you accept a lei?Make vs do: collocations to learn

  6. Unit 6 Art and design

    relative clauses with whose, non-defining relative clauses, relative clauses without a pronoun, when and why

    1. Lesson 21Art that moves in the airRelative clauses with whose
    2. Lesson 22A heart that sells a stateNon-defining relative clauses
    3. Lesson 23What would you paint on a city wall?Relative clauses without who, which or that
    4. Lesson 24Why does the sign say Hollywood?Relative adverbs: when, why and where

  7. Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers

    verb + -ing or to, -ing as a subject and after prepositions, stop, remember, try and forget, prefer and would rather

    1. Lesson 25A day on, not a day off?Verb + -ing or verb + to
    2. Lesson 26The house that welcomed a neighborhoodGerunds as subjects and after prepositions
    3. Lesson 27A walk that lasted 24 hoursStop, remember, forget and try + to or -ing
    4. Lesson 28Head, heart, hands and healthPrefer, would rather and would prefer

  8. Unit 8 Adventure and challenge

    possessive 's vs of, must and can't for deduction, might, may and could for possibility, the meanings of get

    1. Lesson 29Could you climb a fourteener?Possessive 's, s' or of
    2. Lesson 30It must be here somewhere!Must and can't for deduction
    3. Lesson 31How did Houdini get out?Might, may and could for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A capital with no road inThe meanings of get

Questions about this lesson

What are dependent prepositions?
Dependent prepositions are prepositions that a verb, adjective or noun always takes, such as on after depend: The beans depend on the corn. The preposition often doesn't follow from its usual meaning, so it's best to learn the pair together. The B1 lesson Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? on edio.ai teaches nine verbs with dependent prepositions through the Three Sisters garden.
What are some examples of verbs with dependent prepositions?
Common ones are depend on, rely on and consist of, along with benefit from, belong to, result in, care about, protect something from and provide someone with. Three from Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? on edio.ai: The Three Sisters consist of corn, beans and squash. Next year's corn benefits from the beans. Squash leaves protect the soil from the sun.
What comes after a dependent preposition?
A noun, a pronoun or a verb in -ing: depend on the weather, rely on it, benefit from planting beans. A question word with a sentence works too: Do you care about where your food comes from? The verb after the preposition is never the base form or to + verb, so it's care about eating, not care about to eat. A table in Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? practices the noun and the -ing form.
What's the difference between dependent prepositions and phrasal verbs?
With a dependent preposition, the object goes after the preposition, even a pronoun: The vines rely on it, not rely it on. Many phrasal verbs, such as throw away, work differently: a pronoun goes in the middle (throw it away), and the particle often changes the verb's meaning. Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? teaches the first group on edio.ai, and the next lesson, What happens to dining-hall leftovers?, the second.
Is it "depend on" or "depend of"?
It's depend on, never depend of or depend from: The beans depend on the corn. Depend upon is correct too, but more formal. Depends keeps it too: A good harvest depends on the weather. In a short answer, it can drop out: Would you eat vegetables from a lab? It depends. The chat in Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? on edio.ai sets It depends of the vegetables as a trap.
What is Three Sisters planting?
Three Sisters planting is growing corn, beans and squash together in mounds of earth, as the Haudenosaunee and many other Native nations do. The corn gives the beans a stalk to climb, the beans put nutrients back into the soil for next year's corn, and the big squash leaves keep the ground moist and the weeds down. Riley's story in the edio.ai lesson Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? explains it.
How do you plant the Three Sisters?
The sisters go in one by one. Corn goes first: a few seeds on top of mounds about three feet apart. When the corn is growing (about four to six inches high, a Cornell guide says), the beans are planted next to it, and the squash seeds go around the other two. The same guide puts squash in only about every seventh hill. A quiz in Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? on edio.ai checks the order.
How do I teach dependent prepositions to B1 students?
Start with a few verbs that tell one story, each with one clear example: The beans depend on the corn. Then add what comes after the preposition (a noun, a pronoun or -ing) and its place at the end of questions. Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? on edio.ai starts from a garden where each plant needs another, so the verbs mean something real before the drills begin.
What's a good game for practicing dependent prepositions?
A spin-the-wheel class survey works well: each spin gives a question such as Do you rely on fast food during the week? or How would you protect a garden from hungry animals?, the student asks a classmate, and the last slice asks for a report: Most of us… In Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? on edio.ai, the wheel comes after a chat and a model report.
What's good homework for dependent prepositions?
Good homework makes students produce the preposition, not just pick it: gaps such as Footnote relies ___ Darius for snacks, then choices like consists of, in or on, and a quiz that turns This hoe is Darius's into This hoe belongs to Darius. In Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? on edio.ai, all ten tasks check themselves, a survey report among them.
How do you practice dependent prepositions one-to-one?
Interview the student with a short survey: What does a typical dinner at your home consist of? What do you rely on in the morning? The student answers in full sentences, then interviews you. The chat in Why do corn, beans and squash grow together? on edio.ai works without a partner: Riley asks her food survey questions, and the right reply is It depends on the vegetables, not It depends of.
Are there interactive exercises for dependent prepositions?
Yes: choices, gap-fills and chats that score themselves make the pairs stick. This page plays three parts of Why do corn, beans and squash grow together?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, without an account: Riley and Darius's talk about his Three Sisters planter, a gap-fill of verbs and their prepositions, and Riley's survey chat. An account opens the whole lesson.
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