Sign up for freeSign up

The house that welcomed a neighborhood: the gerund as subject and after prepositions

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches the gerund as subject and after prepositions with Hull-House, a Chicago settlement house opened in 1889.

Grammar
An -ing form as the subject, with a singular verb (Learning a new language takes time.), and -ing after by, without, instead of, before, after and for.
Topic
Hull-House, one of the first settlement houses in the US, with its classes, day care and art gallery, and words such as tutor, night school and homesick.
Activities
A story page to read, a museum tour and a listener's message to hear, self-checking drills, a chat that signs up for a class and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: hello, neighbor!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: a house for the neighborhoodVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: a house full of classes

    • Look at the picture: Hull-House in the 1890sPictureUnlock
    • Read Jade'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 tour of Hull-House

    • Listen to Jade and BeauListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Listener's Take: Trudy's messageListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Teaching English, by opening classes

    • Study the scheme: -ing formsGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the -ing formFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropTry it
    • Fill in the table: use the -ing formFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: sign up for a class

    • Choose the right replies: sign up for a classChatTry it
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock

  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: use the -ing form of the verbFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the sentence with the same meaningQuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Jade answers TrudyDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: the community newsletterChoose the optionUnlock

32 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.

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

  • settlement house
  • night school
  • day care
  • cooking class
  • gallery
  • employment office
  • speech
  • wealthy
  • homesick

Grammar: gerunds as subjects and after prepositions

A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used like a noun, so it can be the subject of a sentence: Teaching English was a big part of the work. After a preposition, a verb takes the same form: by offering day care, instead of waiting. With the classes and clubs of Hull-House, students practice both jobs and the slips that go with them.

-ing as a subject and after prepositions

The -ing form of a verb can be the subject of a sentence: Teaching English was… After a preposition (by, without, instead of…), use the -ing form: by opening, instead of waiting.

An -ing form as the subject

The -ing form starts the sentence, and the words after it belong to it: Learning a new language takes time. Running Hull-House was Addams's work for many years. One -ing subject works like it, so the verb is singular: Learning new words is fun, not are fun.

-ing as the subject

-ing subjectVerbThe rest
Teaching Englishwasa big part of the work.
Learning a new languagetakestime.
Running Hull-HousewasAddams's work for many years.
Tutoring kidsisthe best part of Trudy's week.
Raising moneyisn'teasy.

One -ing subject = a singular verb

One -ing subject is like it: use is, was, takes, helps. Learning new words is fun (not: are fun). Start with the -ing form, not the base form: Teaching English was a big part of the work (not: Teach English was…).

By, without, instead of, before + -ing

By + -ing says how: Hull-House helped mothers by offering day care. Without + -ing means you don't do it, instead of + -ing means one thing and not the other, and before or after says when. Familiar pairs like good at follow the same rule: I'm thinking about volunteering.

Preposition + -ingWhat it saysExample
by + -inghow you do somethingHull-House helped mothers by offering day care.
without + -ingyou don't do itDon't take photos without asking.
instead of + -ingyou do one thing, not the otherThey lived there instead of just visiting.
before / after + -ingwhenBefore opening Hull-House, they visited London.
for + -ingafter thanks / sorry, or what a thing is forThanks for helping! This room is for cooking.
Reminder: about, at, in + -ingwords you know: think about, worry about, good at, interested inI'm thinking about volunteering. Jade is good at explaining.

No base form and no to after a preposition

After a preposition, the verb is never the base form or to + verb: instead of waiting, not instead of wait; without asking, not without to ask. The same goes for by and before: by opening, before leaving.

No to, no base form after a preposition

After by, without, instead of, before, after, for, about, at and in, use -ing: instead of waiting (not: instead of wait), without asking (not: without to ask), before leaving (not: before to leave), by opening (not: by open).

For + -ing, or to for a reason?

For + -ing comes after thanks and sorry, and it says what a thing is for: Thanks for helping them. A kitchen is for cooking. A person's reason takes to instead: I came here to learn English, not for learning English.

for + -ing or to?

For a person's reason, use to: I came here to learn English (not: for learning English). Use for + -ing after thanks and sorry, and for what a thing is for: Thanks for helping them (not: for help them). A kitchen is for cooking.

Spelling, and before or after with a clause

The -ing spelling is the one from the present continuous: make → making, run → running, study → studying. Before and after can also take a whole clause, so before they opened the house is right too.

Spelling, and full sentences

Make the -ing form as in the present continuous: teach → teaching, make → making (no -e), run → running, get → getting (double the last letter), study → studying. Before and after can also come before a subject and a verb: before they opened the house is right too.

At Hull-House and on the show

  • Teaching English was a big part of the work at Hull-House.
  • Before opening Hull-House, the two friends visited London.
  • They moved in instead of just visiting the neighborhood.
  • Hull-House helped working mothers by offering day care.
  • For Jade, studying the stars helps her think.
  • Thanks for showing me around, Beau!

Common mistakes

  • Teach English was a big part of the work.

    Teaching English was a big part of the work.

    the subject is the -ing form

  • They helped mothers by open a kindergarten.

    They helped mothers by opening a kindergarten.

    by + -ing

  • Don't go in without to ask.

    Don't go in without asking.

    no to after a preposition

  • Thanks for help them!

    Thanks for helping them!

    thanks for + -ing

More lessons on this grammar: Gerunds and infinitives lessons and exercises

Try the gerund as subject exercises

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

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 18 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 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:

  • start a sentence with an -ing subject and a singular verb: Teaching English was a big part of the work. Learning new words is fun.
  • say how with by + -ing: Hull-House helped working mothers by offering day care. You can register by filling out a short form.
  • use -ing after without, instead of, before and after: They moved in instead of just visiting. Don't go in without asking.
  • thank someone and sign up for a class: Thanks for helping me! I'm thinking about volunteering on the weekend.

Lesson 26 is the second lesson of Volunteers and changemakers, unit 7 of English B1.2 · Changemakers. It builds on lesson 25, where keep and avoid took -ing, on A2.2 lesson 28's good at and interested in + -ing, and on A2.1 lesson 24's to for a reason. Lesson 27 moves on to stop, remember, try and forget. A house that helped people by teaching, cooking and caring for children keeps the -ing form busy.

Students spin a wheel of questions about neighbors, classes and volunteering, then learn twelve words, from register and tutor to employment office, with pictures and audio. They read Jade's story of Hull-House on the show's website, then hear her tour the house museum with Beau, a guide, and a message from Trudy, who tutors kids at a library, both AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five drills that mark themselves, among them a table that puts each verb in both jobs. In the speaking chapter, students register for a cooking class in Shanice's chat, then open boxes about learning and helping.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a word gap-fill and a memory game, then a choice of -ing forms, gaps for the verbs, word order, a same-meaning quiz, Jade's reply to Trudy with words to drag, and a community newsletter with a choice in each line.

Grammar:
-ing as a subject · -ing after prepositions · by + -ing · instead of + -ing · without + -ing · gerunds
Topic:
Hull-House · Jane Addams · Chicago · settlement houses · volunteering · neighbors · community classes · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Open with a sentence about your own class: Learning English is… Each student finishes it, then the class looks at the verb, which stays singular because one -ing subject works like it.
  • Before the reading, ask for a guess: what was the first thing Hull-House added, a classroom, a kitchen or a gallery? The story gives the answer, and Jade guesses wrong in the tour too.
  • Play the tour twice: first for the rooms and classes, then for each by, instead of or before + -ing. Students note every one and say what it tells: how, what in its place, or when.
  • Turn Trudy's question into a group task: each group plans one class for a settlement house today and presents it with By joining…, Instead of… and Learning … is…

Liked it?

Teach the whole lesson in edio

32 exercises in 6 chapters, ready to teach. edio is an online platform for language schools and teachers: ready-made interactive lessons, live classes, homework and student progress in one place.

  1. Start a free trial

    7 days, no credit card.

  2. Open the lesson

    Find it in the library of 621 ready lessons. Teach it as it is, or copy any chapter into your own lessons.

  3. Teach it live or as homework

    Students work in their own accounts, in sync with you during the lesson, and the practice exercises check themselves.

Teach it free for 7 days

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 11Why 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 26 · you're hereThe 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 is a gerund as subject?
It is an -ing form that does the job of the subject, the way a noun would: Teaching English was a big part of the work. The words after the gerund belong to it, so in Learning a new language takes time, the whole subject is Learning a new language. The B1 lesson The house that welcomed a neighborhood on edio.ai teaches it with Hull-House in Chicago.
Is a gerund subject singular or plural?
One gerund subject takes a singular verb, even when a plural noun comes after it: Learning new words is fun, not are fun; Tutoring kids is the best part of Trudy's week. In the sentence, it works like it. A quiz in The house that welcomed a neighborhood, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, sets is fun against are fun.
Is it "Teach English was" or "Teaching English was"?
It's Teaching English was, with the -ing form: the base form can't be the subject of a sentence. The same goes for Raising money was hard work, not Raise money was, and Tutoring kids is fun, not Tutor kids is. The chat in The house that welcomed a neighborhood offers Tutor kids sounds like fun! as a wrong reply.
What's the difference between a gerund and the present continuous?
Both use the -ing form, but in the present continuous it follows am, is or are and is part of the verb: Jade is studying the stars. As a gerund, it does a noun's job: Studying the stars helps Jade think. The spelling is the same in both: making, running, studying. The scheme of The house that welcomed a neighborhood points this out.
What verb form comes after a preposition?
After a preposition, use the -ing form, never to or the base form: by opening, without asking, instead of waiting, before leaving, thanks for helping. So it's Don't go in without asking, not without to ask. A person's reason is different: I came here to learn English. The B1 lesson The house that welcomed a neighborhood on edio.ai has drills for each of these prepositions.
What was Hull-House?
Hull-House was one of the first settlement houses in the United States, opened in Chicago in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. They lived in a big house on Halsted Street among their neighbors, many of them working-class immigrants. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Today the original house and a dining hall are the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum.
What did Hull-House offer its neighbors?
It offered English and cooking classes, a kindergarten and day care, clubs for children and evening classes for adults that became almost a night school, plus an employment office. The first thing added to the house was an art gallery, the second a public kitchen; a gym, a swimming pool and a music school came later. By its second year, about 2,000 people came every week.
How do I teach gerunds as subjects to B1 students?
Start from activities students already name with -ing, such as swimming or cooking, and put them at the front of a sentence: Swimming in the lake is fun. Then add prepositions one by one, with by first. The house that welcomed a neighborhood on edio.ai goes from Jade's story and a museum tour to the scheme, five drills and a sign-up chat.
What's a good game for practicing gerunds?
Play a guessing game with -ing subjects: a student describes an activity without naming its verb, as in … takes a lot of time, but it makes you strong, and the class guesses Swimming? The open boxes in The house that welcomed a neighborhood make a speaking round too, with prompts like Finish the sentence: Learning a new language is … because …
What's good homework for gerunds after prepositions?
Set a same-meaning quiz alongside the gap-fills: students read Jade didn't take the bus. She walked to the museum. and pick Instead of taking the bus, Jade walked to the museum. In The house that welcomed a neighborhood on edio.ai, all ten homework tasks check themselves, from a word match to a community newsletter with a choice in every line.
How do you practice gerunds one-to-one?
Talk about the student's own routines: ask What do you do before going to bed? and How did you learn to cook?, and listen for before and by + -ing in the answers. The chat in The house that welcomed a neighborhood on edio.ai works without a partner: the student signs up for a cooking class with Shanice and picks each reply.
Are there interactive exercises for gerunds as subjects?
Yes: drag-and-drop gaps and a chat that check each answer. Without an account, this page plays three parts of The house that welcomed a neighborhood, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Jade's tour of Hull-House with Beau, a guide, a gap text where students drag in the -ing forms, and Shanice's chat at a community center. The rest of the lesson is locked.
Unlock full lesson

Teach this lesson with your students

Book a demoStart free trial

No credit card required