The count that took eight years? Noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to

Q: What is noun + preposition in English?

Noun + preposition means a noun that is usually followed by one particular preposition : a need for , a solution to , access to , an effect on , the cause of . The noun alone doesn't tell you which preposition comes next, so learners memorize the pair: There was a real need for a faster count. The B2 lesson The count that took eight years? on edio.ai teaches these pairs with the 1890 US census.

Q: Which prepositions go with need, solution, access and effect?

Say a need for and a solution to , then access to and an effect on . For also follows demand and reason , to also follows key , cause takes of and attitude takes toward . Before a verb, need takes to : a need to count faster . A solution for is also correct, though less common. The scheme in The count that took eight years? on edio.ai groups the nouns by preposition.

Q: What are some examples of nouns with prepositions?

Five from The count that took eight years? on edio.ai: By the 1880s, there was a real need for a faster count. The cause of the delay was the amount of data. Three contestants had access to the same data. Hollerith's punch cards were a solution to the problem. His machines had a big effect on data. Each pair is worth learning as a unit .

Q: What's the difference between “an increase in” and “an increase of”?

In names what grows; of gives the amount. So it's an increase in the population but an increase of 25.5 percent , and both fit in one phrase: The 1890 census showed an increase of 25.5 percent in the population. A rise works the same way: a rise in prices , a rise of 5 percent . A quiz in The count that took eight years? on edio.ai asks what each part tells you.

Q: Is it “access to” or “access of”?

It's access to , not access of : Three contestants had access to the same data. Access of is a common slip, like a need of (say a need for ) and an effect at (say an effect on ). The verb access takes no preposition at all: They could access the data. The wrong replies in the chat of The count that took eight years? on edio.ai are mistakes of this kind.

Q: Who was Herman Hollerith?

Herman Hollerith was the inventor behind the 1890 census's punch-card machines . He was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1860; his birthday is given as February 29, a leap day. After Columbia's School of Mines, he worked for the census, and his machine won a contest held by census officials in 1888. In 1896 he founded the Tabulating Machine Company, which later became part of IBM. The count that took eight years? on edio.ai tells his story.

Q: How was the 1890 census counted?

With Hollerith's punch cards and electric tabulators . Clerks punched about 500 cards a day each. In the machine, pins passed through the holes into small cups of mercury, completing a circuit that moved one of 40 dials, and a bell rang when a card was read. The count found 62,979,766 people, an increase of 25.5 percent over 1880, and the results were published 18 months sooner than for 1880. The count that took eight years? on edio.ai explains how.

Q: How do I teach noun + preposition to B2 students?

Teach each noun with its preposition from the start , then put the pairs to work: turn verbs into nouns ( needed speed → a need for speed ) and sort pairs by preposition. Add an increase in against of once the rest feel easy. The count that took eight years? on edio.ai goes from Isaiah's explainer and an interview with a historian to the scheme, a verb-to-noun table and four more drills.

Q: What's a good game for practicing nouns with prepositions?

Try preposition dominoes : half the cards show a noun ( a need , access , an effect ), the other half a preposition and an ending ( for more buses , to the lab , on my sleep ). Students match them in a chain, and a wrong pair costs a turn. For speaking, the wheel in The count that took eight years? on edio.ai asks questions like What's the best solution to a backlog of homework?

Q: What's good homework for noun + preposition?

Good homework mixes choosing with typing : options like a real need for / of / at more computers , gaps with the preposition to type, word order and a quiz on the correct sentence. All ten homework tasks in The count that took eight years? on edio.ai check themselves, and two of them return to the story: the newsletter's archive page on punch cards and Isaiah's answer to Lyle.

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches noun + preposition pairs such as a need for and access to through the 1890 US census and Herman Hollerith's punch cards.

Grammar: A need for, a reason for, a solution to, access to, an effect on, the cause of and an attitude toward, plus in for what grows and of for how much.
Topic: Why adding up the 1880 census by hand took seven or eight years and how Hollerith's machine read holes, with words such as tabulate and backlog.
Activities: An explainer, a historian's interview and an analyst's voice memo, self-checking drills, a chat about survey forms and a debate wheel.

What's inside

Chapter 1Warm-up: count me in
- PictureUnlock
- Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
- Study the words: counting a countryVocabularyTry it
- Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock
Chapter 2Let's read: too much data, too few hands
- Look at the picture: counting by handPictureUnlock
- Read Isaiah's explainer on The Why DeskArticleUnlock
- Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
- Match the paragraphs and the headingsMatchUnlock
Chapter 3Let's listen: can anyone count everyone?
- Listen to Isaiah and RosalieListeningTry it
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
- Listen to the Reader's Rebuttal: Lyle's voice memoListeningUnlock
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
Chapter 4Grammar: a solution to the problem
- Study the scheme: noun + prepositionGrammar schemeTry it
- Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with the right prepositionFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the table: say it with a noun and a prepositionFill in the tableTry it
- Choose the correct answer: which preposition?QuizUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: Isaiah's notesDrag and dropUnlock
Chapter 5Let's talk: 400 forms by Friday
- Choose the right replies: help Lamont count 400 formsChatTry it
- Spin the wheel and answer: let's debateSpin the wheelUnlock
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 right preposition: new sentencesFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
- Choose the correct option: This week in the archiveChoose the optionUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: Isaiah answers LyleDrag and dropUnlock

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

data
punch card
circuit
loom
backlog
bottleneck
precise
spreadsheet
snapshot

Grammar: noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to

Many nouns take a fixed preposition, so learners need the pair, not only the noun: a need for, a solution to, an effect on. A census that grew faster than clerks could count it gives each pair a real job. Learners store every noun together with its preposition, turn verbs into nouns and tell an increase in from an increase of.

Noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to

Many nouns go with a particular preposition. Learn the noun and its preposition together, as one phrase.

For, to, on, of and toward

Need, demand and reason take for; solution, access and key take to; then come an effect on, the cause of and an attitude toward. Learn each noun and its preposition as one phrase: a real need for a faster count.

Which preposition?

Preposition	Nouns	Example
for	a need for, a demand for, a reason for	There was a real need for speed.
to	a solution to, access to, the key to	They all had access to the same data.
on	an effect on	His machines had a big effect on the census.
of	the cause of	The cause of the delay was the amount of data.
toward	an attitude toward	Leona's attitude toward long drafts is simple.

Hollerith's story

By the 1880s, there was a real need for a faster count.
The cause of the delay was the amount of data.
Three contestants had access to the same data.
Hollerith's punch cards were a solution to the problem.
The 1890 census showed an increase of 25.5 percent in the population.
His machines had a big effect on data.

An increase in or an increase of?

After increase and rise, in names the thing that grows and of gives the amount: an increase in the population, an increase of 25.5 percent. One phrase can hold both: an increase of 25.5 percent in the population.

After the noun comes…	Say	Example
the thing that grows	an increase / a rise in	an increase in the population
the amount	an increase / a rise of	an increase of 25.5 percent
both	of + the amount, in + the thing	an increase of 25.5 percent in the population

From a verb to a noun

The verbs take no preposition, but their nouns do: They needed speed → a need for speed; Cards solved the problem → a solution to the problem. Affect is the verb; effect is the noun: The machines had an effect on the census.

From a verb to a noun

Many of these nouns come from verbs with no preposition: They needed speed. → They had a need for speed. Cards solved the problem. → Cards were a solution to the problem. The machines affected the census. → They had an effect on the census. (affect is the verb, effect the noun.)

Also right: a solution for, the reason why

A solution for is correct, though to is more common, and the reason why is fine too. Before a verb, need and reason take to: a need to count faster, a reason to hold a contest, but a need for speed.

Also right

A solution for is correct too, but to is more common. The reason why is fine: The reason why it took so long was the data. After need and reason, use for + a noun, or to + a verb: a need for speed, a need to count faster; a reason for the contest, a reason to hold a contest.

Cause of, effect on and common mistakes

The cause of says where a problem comes from; cause for usually goes with a feeling, as in no cause for worry. Effect can take both of and on: the effect of punch cards on the census. Avoid access of, an effect at and a need of.

cause of, effect on

The cause of is the usual way to say where a problem comes from: the cause of the delay. Cause for often means “a reason for a feeling”: There's no cause for worry. An effect on names the thing that changes: an effect on data. The thing that causes the change can come after of: the effect of punch cards on the census.

Common mistakes

They had access of the same data.
They had access to the same data.
access to
The machines had a big effect at the census.
The machines had a big effect on the census.
an effect on + the thing that changes
There was a need of a faster machine.
There was a need for a faster machine.
a need for + a noun
Leona's attitude at long drafts is simple.
Leona's attitude toward long drafts is simple.
an attitude toward + a person or thing

More lessons on this grammar: Prepositions lessons and exercises

Try the noun + preposition exercises

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

What's in the lesson

19 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:

use each noun with its preposition: a real need for speed, a solution to the problem, access to the same data
say what grows with in and by how much with of: an increase of 25.5 percent in the population
turn a verb into a noun phrase: The machines affected the census. → The machines had an effect on the census.
avoid access of, an effect at and a need of, and know that a solution for is also right
debate whether a country can count everyone exactly: The cause of the delay was the amount of data.

Lesson 12 closes Turning points, unit 3 of English B2.2 · Culture and Society. It carries the verbs with prepositions of B1.2 lesson 11 and the adjectives with prepositions of A2.2 lesson 28 over to nouns, and puts B2.1 lesson 23's an increase of and a rise in into one phrase. Lesson 13 opens News and truth with although, whereas and while. A story of a problem and its solution needs these nouns.

Students open boxes of questions about counting, numbers and piles of work, then learn twelve words, from tabulate and process to backlog and snapshot, with pictures and audio. Isaiah's explainer for The Why Desk, the course's magazine, asks how long it takes to count a country, with a true-or-false task, a quiz and headings. On a video call, Isaiah then asks Rosalie, a census historian, whether anyone can count everyone, and Lyle, a data analyst, answers in a voice memo; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking drills, among them a table that turns verbs into noun phrases. In the speaking chapter, students help Lamont count 400 survey forms by chat and spin a wheel of debate questions.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, gaps with the data words and a memory game, then prepositions to choose and to type in new sentences, word order, a quiz on which sentence is correct, the newsletter's archive page on punch cards and Isaiah's answer to Lyle.

Grammar:: noun + preposition · a need for, a solution to · access to, an effect on · an increase in, an increase of · the cause of, an attitude toward
Topic:: the 1890 census · Herman Hollerith · punch cards · the history of data · counting a country · turning points · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

Ask how students would count a whole country before the reading: door to door, by mail, online? Then read to find why adding up the 1880 census took seven or eight years.
Keep a five-column chart on the board: for, to, on, of, toward. As students read and listen, they add every pair they meet, such as the cause of the delay or access to the same data.
Write a verb sentence and its noun twin: The machines affected the census and The machines had an effect on the census. Students make more twins from need, solve and increase.
Run a real class survey after the chat, as Lamont's club does: students count the answers, then report them with an increase in, a need for and the reason for.

Liked it?

Teach the whole lesson in edio

33 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.

Start a free trial
7 days, no credit card.
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.
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 B2.2 · Culture and Society

32 more lessons for adults at B2 in American English, with the same Why Desk team in Pittsburgh. Each lesson answers one question about how Americans learn, work, travel and remember, from the law behind the 40-hour week to the oral histories of StoryCorps. Learners link ideas in formal writing, report what is said and believed, and pack more into a sentence with participle and relative clauses. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

Unit 1 Learning reimagined
adjective suffixes and negative prefixes, mixed conditionals, provided that and on condition that
Unit 2 Work-life balance
be required to and be entitled to, present and perfect participle clauses, participle clauses after conjunctions
Unit 3 Turning points
reduced relative clauses, preposition + which and whom, which for a whole clause, noun + preposition
1. Lesson 9The keyboard that opened the officeReduced relative clauses: -ing and the past participle
2. Lesson 10Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see EarthPreposition + which and whom
3. Lesson 11A city of white palaces for six monthsSentence relative clauses: which for a whole clause
4. Lesson 12 · you're hereThe count that took eight years?Noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to
Unit 4 News and truth
although, whereas and while, the impersonal passive, despite and however, is said to have
Unit 5 Travel that gives back
so as to, in order to and so that, modifying comparatives, linkers of reason and result, verb + object + preposition + -ing
Unit 6 Sport and society
verb + noun collocations, what phrasal verb particles mean, a for-and-against essay, nouns from phrasal verbs
Unit 7 Buildings and heritage
past participle clauses, quantifier + of which and of whom, report language, turn out and prove
Unit 8 Generations
adverb + adjective collocations, three-part phrasal verbs, negative and echo questions, prepositional phrases

Questions about this lesson

What is noun + preposition in English?

Noun + preposition means a noun that is usually followed by one particular preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to, an effect on, the cause of. The noun alone doesn't tell you which preposition comes next, so learners memorize the pair: There was a real need for a faster count. The B2 lesson The count that took eight years? on edio.ai teaches these pairs with the 1890 US census.

Which prepositions go with need, solution, access and effect?

Say a need for and a solution to, then access to and an effect on. For also follows demand and reason, to also follows key, cause takes of and attitude takes toward. Before a verb, need takes to: a need to count faster. A solution for is also correct, though less common. The scheme in The count that took eight years? on edio.ai groups the nouns by preposition.

What are some examples of nouns with prepositions?

Five from The count that took eight years? on edio.ai: By the 1880s, there was a real need for a faster count. The cause of the delay was the amount of data. Three contestants had access to the same data. Hollerith's punch cards were a solution to the problem. His machines had a big effect on data. Each pair is worth learning as a unit.

What's the difference between “an increase in” and “an increase of”?

In names what grows; of gives the amount. So it's an increase in the population but an increase of 25.5 percent, and both fit in one phrase: The 1890 census showed an increase of 25.5 percent in the population. A rise works the same way: a rise in prices, a rise of 5 percent. A quiz in The count that took eight years? on edio.ai asks what each part tells you.

Is it “access to” or “access of”?

It's access to, not access of: Three contestants had access to the same data. Access of is a common slip, like a need of (say a need for) and an effect at (say an effect on). The verb access takes no preposition at all: They could access the data. The wrong replies in the chat of The count that took eight years? on edio.ai are mistakes of this kind.

Who was Herman Hollerith?

Herman Hollerith was the inventor behind the 1890 census's punch-card machines. He was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1860; his birthday is given as February 29, a leap day. After Columbia's School of Mines, he worked for the census, and his machine won a contest held by census officials in 1888. In 1896 he founded the Tabulating Machine Company, which later became part of IBM. The count that took eight years? on edio.ai tells his story.

How was the 1890 census counted?

With Hollerith's punch cards and electric tabulators. Clerks punched about 500 cards a day each. In the machine, pins passed through the holes into small cups of mercury, completing a circuit that moved one of 40 dials, and a bell rang when a card was read. The count found 62,979,766 people, an increase of 25.5 percent over 1880, and the results were published 18 months sooner than for 1880. The count that took eight years? on edio.ai explains how.

How do I teach noun + preposition to B2 students?

Teach each noun with its preposition from the start, then put the pairs to work: turn verbs into nouns (needed speed → a need for speed) and sort pairs by preposition. Add an increase in against of once the rest feel easy. The count that took eight years? on edio.ai goes from Isaiah's explainer and an interview with a historian to the scheme, a verb-to-noun table and four more drills.

What's a good game for practicing nouns with prepositions?

Try preposition dominoes: half the cards show a noun (a need, access, an effect), the other half a preposition and an ending (for more buses, to the lab, on my sleep). Students match them in a chain, and a wrong pair costs a turn. For speaking, the wheel in The count that took eight years? on edio.ai asks questions like What's the best solution to a backlog of homework?

What's good homework for noun + preposition?

Good homework mixes choosing with typing: options like a real need for / of / at more computers, gaps with the preposition to type, word order and a quiz on the correct sentence. All ten homework tasks in The count that took eight years? on edio.ai check themselves, and two of them return to the story: the newsletter's archive page on punch cards and Isaiah's answer to Lyle.

How do you practice noun + preposition one-to-one?

Talk through a real problem the student has, such as a messy schedule: the teacher asks What's the cause of it?, Is there a need for a new plan? and What would be a solution to it?, and the student answers in full. The chat in The count that took eight years? on edio.ai works alone: Lamont has 400 survey forms to count, and the right replies use a need for, access to and an effect on.

Are there interactive exercises for noun + preposition?

Yes. This page plays three parts of The count that took eight years?, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: Isaiah's video call with the census historian Rosalie, a table that turns verbs into nouns with prepositions and Lamont's chat about 400 forms. Everything else needs an account.

Unlock full lesson

About this lesson

What's inside

Vocabulary

Grammar: noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to

For, to, on, of and toward

Which preposition?

Hollerith's story

An increase in or an increase of?

From a verb to a noun

Also right: a solution for, the reason why

Cause of, effect on and common mistakes

Common mistakes

Try the noun + preposition exercises

What's in the lesson

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

Teaching tips

Teach the whole lesson in edio

Start a free trial

Open the lesson

Teach it live or as homework

The whole course: English B2.2 · Culture and Society

Unit 1 Learning reimagined

Unit 2 Work-life balance

Unit 3 Turning points

Unit 4 News and truth

Unit 5 Travel that gives back

Unit 6 Sport and society

Unit 7 Buildings and heritage

Unit 8 Generations

Questions about this lesson

Teach this lesson with your students