Adele, 2015

The English language seems uniquely fond of gerunds, using the -ing form of a verb as a noun where other languages might use an infinitive or an entirely different construction. (Consider the English sentence Thank you for helping me and the Spanish sentence Gracias por ayudarme.) This song repeats the phrase I’m sorry for breaking your heart–a perfect example of the use of a gerund following a preposition.

Choose from the following activities:

• Listening Listen to the audio-only video while reading the lyrics. (Most Internet lyrics for this song are accurate.)
• Listening Watch the official music video.
• Reading Read the high-beginning story behind the song, titled “Hello, Adele.” 
• Grammar Practice using gerunds as objects of prepositions with  the worksheet below, suggested for levels low intermediate and above. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

preposition + gerund.docx          preposition + gerund.pdf

Preposition + gerund (webpage)