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The towers the city tried to pull down: turn out to be, it turned out that and prove

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches turn out to be and prove (to be) through the Watts Towers, hand-built towers in Los Angeles that the city once ordered torn down.

Grammar
Turn out to be and It turned out that… for what people found out, and prove that, prove them safe and prove (to be) for what a test showed.
Topic
How Rodia built the towers and how a 1959 load test answered the city, with words such as rebar, shard and withstand.
Activities
An explainer, a workshop visit and a reader's voice memo, self-checking drills, a chat about a model tower, arguments to sort and boxes about folk art.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: broken glass, big ideas

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: towers of glass and tileVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: 10,000 pounds on one tower

    • Look at the picture: towers of glass and tilePictureUnlock
    • Read Leona'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

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: does folk art need a museum?

    • Listen to Leona and KermitListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Reader's Rebuttal: Beatriz's voice memoListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: the towers proved the city wrong

    • Study the scheme: turn out and proveGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Fill in the table: say it the other wayFill in the tableTry it
    • Choose the correct answer: what does it mean?QuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Leona's notes from Kermit's workshopDrag and dropUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: what did the test prove?

    • Choose the right replies: Augustus's test resultChatTry it
    • Sort the words into the correct columns: Leona or Kermit?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Open a box and answer: does folk art need a museum?Open 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 words in bracketsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a heritage reportChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Leona answers BeatrizDrag 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.

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

  • rebar
  • mosaic
  • shard
  • hazard
  • load test
  • self-taught
  • conservator
  • folk art
  • committee

Grammar: turn out and prove + to-infinitive or that clause

Turn out reports what people found out in the end, often a surprise; prove reports what a test, facts or time showed. Towers the city called unsafe, then a load test, need both: The towers turned out to be stronger than anyone thought. The test proved them safe. Learners use to + base form after both verbs and It turned out that before a full clause.

turn out and prove + to-infinitive or that

Say what people found out in the end (turn out) or what a test, facts or time showed (prove).

turn out to be, to hold, not to be

Turn out takes to + base form: turned out to be wrong, turned out to hold 40 pounds, turned out not to be serious. For an earlier action, use to have + past participle: The pottery turned out to have come from nearby factories.

FormExample
turn out to be + adjective or nounThe towers turned out to be stronger than anyone thought.
turn out to + another verbOur model tower turned out to hold 40 pounds.
turn out not to be …The crack turned out not to be serious.
turn out to have + past participle (an earlier action)The pottery turned out to have come from nearby factories.
It turned out that + a full clauseIt turned out that the towers were safe.
As it turned out, + a full clauseAs it turned out, the tower didn't fall.

It turned out that + a full clause

Before a subject and verb, say It turned out that…: It turned out that the towers were safe. There's no to and no second it, so not It turned out to that… or It turned out it to be… As it turned out, … works the same way.

A verb after them: to + base form

When a verb follows turn out or prove, it's to + the base form: turned out to be, turned out not to be, proved to be, turned out to hold. Never -ing and never been: not turned out being, not proved been. For an earlier action, use to have + past participle. Before a full clause, say It turned out that…, with no to and no second it.

prove that, prove them safe, prove popular

Prove that takes a full clause: The test proved that the tower could withstand the pull. With an object, add an adjective: The test proved the towers (to be) safe; The towers proved the city wrong. With no object, to be is optional: The idea proved (to be) popular.

FormExample
prove that + a full clauseThe test proved that the towers could withstand a pull of 10,000 pounds.
prove + someone / something + (to be) + adjectiveThe test proved the towers (to be) safe.
prove someone wrong / rightThe towers proved the city wrong.
prove (to be) + adjective or nounThe idea proved (to be) popular.

turn out or prove?

Turn out is for a discovery, often a surprise; prove is for what a test, facts or time showed, and it sounds more formal. The pattern is the same for every person: I turned out to be right, they proved to be good builders.

turn out or prove?

turn out = people found something out in the end, often a surprise. prove = a test, facts or time showed it, and it sounds a little more formal. After prove, to be is often left out: The idea proved (to be) popular. In speech, the present It turns out (that)… is common for news you have just found out: It turns out the café is closed today.

Every person: the form never changes

Personturn outprove
II turned out to be right.I proved to be a good builder.
youYou turned out to be right.You proved to be a good builder.
heHe turned out to be right.He proved to be a good builder.
sheShe turned out to be right.She proved to be a good builder.
itIt turned out to be strong.It proved to be strong.
weWe turned out to be right.We proved to be good builders.
theyThey turned out to be right.They proved to be good builders.

Common mistakes

Never -ing and never been after these verbs: turned out being strong and proved been popular are wrong. Use to be, or nothing at all after prove: turned out to be strong, proved (to be) popular.

  • The towers turned out being strong.

    The towers turned out to be strong.

    turn out + to + base form, never -ing

  • The idea proved been popular.

    The idea proved (to be) popular.

    prove + (to be), never been

  • It turned out to that the towers were safe.

    It turned out that the towers were safe.

    before a full clause: It turned out that, with no to

  • It turned out it to be a long job.

    It turned out to be a long job.

    one it is enough

At the Watts Towers

  • Rodia's towers turned out to be far stronger than the city thought.
  • It turned out that the tallest tower moved no more than 1 1/4 inches.
  • The 1959 test proved the towers safe.
  • The test proved that the towers could withstand a pull of 10,000 pounds.
  • Much of the pottery turned out to have come from nearby factories.
  • In the end, the towers proved the city wrong.

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

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What's in the lesson

  • 20 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:

  • say what people found out in the end: The towers turned out to be far stronger than the city thought.
  • put a full clause after It turned out that, with no to: It turned out that the city's experts were wrong.
  • say what a test or the facts showed: The 1959 test proved the towers safe. The idea proved popular.
  • use to + base form or to have + past participle, never -ing: Much of the pottery turned out to have come from nearby factories.
  • argue whether folk art needs museums: Love turned out not to be enough. His towers proved the city's experts wrong.

Lesson 28 closes Buildings and heritage, unit 7 of English B2.2 · Culture and Society. Its turned out to have come reuses the perfect infinitive from lesson 16's is said to have, and its homework report draws on lesson 27's report language. Lesson 29 starts the last unit, Generations, with collocations such as widely used. A city's verdict that one load test overturned is a natural home for turn out and prove.

Students spin a wheel about homemade art and old buildings, then learn twelve words, from embed and withstand to rebar and load test, with pictures and audio. They read Leona's explainer on the Watts Towers, then hear her in a Pittsburgh workshop with Kermit, a conservator who says folk art needs museums, and Beatriz from Los Angeles, who says people saved the towers; the voices are AI-generated. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking drills, among them a table that says each sentence the other way. In the speaking chapter, students answer Augustus's news about a model tower, sort arguments under Leona or Kermit and open boxes about folk art.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, word gaps and a memory game, then forms to choose, verbs to complete, word order, a quiz on correct sentences, a heritage committee's report on a mosaic wall and Leona's reply to Beatriz.

Grammar:
turn out to be · it turned out that · prove + adjective · prove that · to-infinitive after turn out and prove
Topic:
the Watts Towers · Simon Rodia · Los Angeles · folk art · saving historic buildings · buildings and heritage · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

  • Ask what people expected first: the city expected the towers to fall. Then students say what happened with turned out: They turned out to be far stronger. The gap between the two is the meaning.
  • Sort discoveries from proof: turn out for what people found out, prove for what a test or the facts showed. Students sort sentences from the explainer into the two groups.
  • Play the workshop dialogue twice: first for Leona's and Kermit's views on museums, then for every turned out and proved. Students note the form that follows each one.
  • Run a classroom load test: groups build a paper tower, predict how many books it will hold, then report: Ours turned out to hold six. The test proved our first design wrong.

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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

  1. Unit 1 Learning reimagined

    adjective suffixes and negative prefixes, mixed conditionals, provided that and on condition that

    1. Lesson 1College for farmers' kids?Adjective suffixes and negative prefixes
    2. Lesson 2One cousin, one video, millions of learnersMixed conditionals: a past cause, a result now
    3. Lesson 3A college that says yesConditional linkers: provided that, on condition that, assuming, otherwise
    4. Lesson 4School in the woodsMixed conditionals: a present state, a past result

  2. Unit 2 Work-life balance

    be required to and be entitled to, present and perfect participle clauses, participle clauses after conjunctions

    1. Lesson 5Who decided a week is 40 hours?Formal rules: be required to, be entitled to, be exempt from
    2. Lesson 6A paid year off: rest or research?Present participle clauses for time and reason
    3. Lesson 7Was the coffee break born in Wisconsin?Perfect participle clauses: having done and having been done
    4. Lesson 8Why is the first Monday of September a day off?Participle phrases after conjunctions

  3. 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 12The count that took eight years?Noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to

  4. Unit 4 News and truth

    although, whereas and while, the impersonal passive, despite and however, is said to have

    1. Lesson 13A newspaper of their ownLinkers of contrast: although, even though, whereas and while
    2. Lesson 14Bat-people on the Moon?The impersonal passive: It is said that…
    3. Lesson 15Read like a fact-checkerLinkers of contrast: despite, in spite of, however and even so
    4. Lesson 16Did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree?Passive reporting verbs: is said to have done

  5. 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

    1. Lesson 17Seven rules for the wild?Linkers of purpose: to, in order to, so as to, so that
    2. Lesson 18A lottery to see firefliesModifying comparatives and superlatives
    3. Lesson 19Sunrise with the turtlesLinkers of reason and result
    4. Lesson 20Volunteer on vacation?Verb + object + preposition + -ing

  6. Unit 6 Sport and society

    verb + noun collocations, what phrasal verb particles mean, a for-and-against essay, nouns from phrasal verbs

    1. Lesson 21The college team that changed disability sportVerb + noun collocations
    2. Lesson 22When women played pro baseballPhrasal verbs: what the particles mean
    3. Lesson 23Who needs a referee?The for and against essay: plan and linkers
    4. Lesson 24The comeback of Jim ThorpeNouns from phrasal verbs

  7. Unit 7 Buildings and heritage

    past participle clauses, quantifier + of which and of whom, report language, turn out and prove

    1. Lesson 25Homes built into the cliffsPast participle clauses with a passive meaning
    2. Lesson 26A house over a waterfallQuantifier + of which and of whom
    3. Lesson 27From factory to art museumReport language: headings, impersonal style, recommendations
    4. Lesson 28 · you're hereThe towers the city tried to pull downTurn out and prove + to-infinitive or that clause

  8. Unit 8 Generations

    adverb + adjective collocations, three-part phrasal verbs, negative and echo questions, prepositional phrases

    1. Lesson 29Who decides where a generation ends?Adverb + adjective collocations
    2. Lesson 30Music students living in a retirement home?Three-part phrasal verbs
    3. Lesson 31Conversations kept for historyNegative questions and echo questions
    4. Lesson 32A day for grandparentsFixed prepositional phrases

Questions about this lesson

What does “turn out to be” mean?
Turn out to be means to be found, in the end, to be something, often a surprise: The towers turned out to be far stronger than the city thought. People expected one thing and discovered another. It's followed by an adjective or a noun: Our quiet neighbor turned out to be a jazz drummer. The towers the city tried to pull down, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, teaches it with the Watts Towers.
How do you use “turn out” and “prove” in a sentence?
Both take to + base form: turned out to be wrong, turned out to hold 40 pounds, proved to be a success. Before a full clause, say It turned out that… or proved that… Prove can also take an object and an adjective: The test proved the towers safe. For an earlier action, use to have + past participle: turned out to have come. The scheme in The towers the city tried to pull down on edio.ai shows every pattern.
What's the difference between “turn out” and “prove”?
Turn out is about what people discovered, often to their surprise: The towers turned out to be stronger than anyone thought. Prove is about what a test, facts or time showed, and it sounds more formal: The 1959 test proved the towers safe. Sometimes both fit: The idea turned out to be popular, The idea proved popular. In The towers the city tried to pull down on edio.ai, each typed gap names its verb.
What are some examples of “turn out to be” and “prove to be”?
Four from The towers the city tried to pull down on edio.ai: The city's view that the towers were unsafe turned out to be wrong. Goldstone's test proved to be the key to saving the towers. Kermit's careful repair of the old tile mural proved to be a success. The hike looked easy on the map, but it turned out to be the hardest one of the year. The negative is usually turned out not to be.
Is it “turned out to be” or “turned out being”?
It's turned out to be, never turned out being: a verb after turn out takes to + base form. The same goes for prove: The idea proved (to be) popular, not proved been popular. Before a full clause, drop to: It turned out that the towers were safe, not It turned out to that… Most wrong replies in the chat of The towers the city tried to pull down on edio.ai are slips of this kind.
What are the Watts Towers?
The Watts Towers are 17 towers and structures, by one common count, in Watts, a neighborhood of Los Angeles. Sabato (Simon) Rodia, an Italian immigrant with no formal training, built them alone with hand tools from 1921, for more than 30 years: steel rebar, wire mesh and his own concrete, covered with broken glass, sea shells, pottery and tile. The tallest is 99.5 feet high. They became a National Historic Landmark in 1990.
How were the Watts Towers saved?
In the late 1950s, the city said the towers were unsafe and ordered them torn down. Citizens formed a committee, and the city agreed to a load test that the committee paid for. On October 10, 1959, the test put a pull of 10,000 pounds on the tallest tower, which moved no more than 1 1/4 inches and did not fall. The towers the city tried to pull down on edio.ai asks whether the test or the people saved them.
How do I teach turn out and prove to B2 students?
Start with an expectation and a result: Everyone thought the towers would fall. They didn't. Students join the two with turned out, then add prove for what a test showed. The towers the city tried to pull down on edio.ai moves from Leona's explainer and a workshop interview to the scheme, a choice of forms, typed gaps, a table that rewrites each sentence the other way and a quiz on meaning.
What's a good game for practicing turn out to be?
Play “What did it turn out to be?”: each student tells a short story about a first impression that was wrong, stops before the end, and the class guesses the twist: The new neighbor turned out to be a drummer. For speaking, the boxes in The towers the city tried to pull down on edio.ai include Tell us about something that turned out to be better than you expected.
What's good homework for turn out and prove?
Good homework sets the -ing and been traps beside real meaning: forms to choose, verbs to complete from a hint, sentences to order and a quiz on which sentence is correct. All ten homework tasks in The towers the city tried to pull down on edio.ai check themselves, ending with a town committee's report on an old mosaic wall and Leona's reply to a reader from Los Angeles.
How do you practice turn out and prove one-to-one?
Trade stories of expectations that went wrong: a trip, a movie, a first day at work. The teacher asks What did it turn out to be? and What proved you wrong?, and the student answers in full sentences. The chat in The towers the city tried to pull down on edio.ai needs no partner: Augustus's paper-straw tower held 40 pounds, and the student reacts with turned out and proved.
Are there interactive exercises for turn out to be?
Yes. Without an account, this page plays three parts of The towers the city tried to pull down, a B2 lesson on edio.ai: Leona's interview with Kermit, a conservator; a table that rewrites sentences with turned out; and Augustus's chat about his model tower's test. The rest of it needs an account.
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