A whole clause in a noun’s slot
A noun clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb that works like a single noun. Wherever a noun can go — subject, object or after a preposition — a noun clause can go too. It begins with that, a wh- word (what, who, which, when, where, why, how) or if / whether. Pick a clause type and a slot, and watch the clause slide in. (Toda la cláusula ocupa el lugar de un sustantivo.)
1 · Choose the clause type
2 · Choose the slot
What to notice
Statement order inside the clause
Inside a noun clause use statement word order (subject before verb). Do not use do/does/did and do not invert, even when the clause reports a question — the same rule as reported questions (Grammar 7). Pick a question, look at the broken clause, then fix it. (Dentro de la cláusula: orden de afirmación, sin do/does.)
“What we need is …”
Put a what-clause in the subject slot to spotlight the important part. The clause counts as one thing, so the verb is singular. («Lo que necesitamos es…»: lo que = what, nunca «the what».)
if vs whether, the fact that & more
Tap each sentence to see the fix
Six traps from the manual. Guess the correction before you tap. (Adivina la corrección antes de tocar.)
👩🏫 For the teacher — how this page maps to the manual
- Explore turns Grammar 9's "a noun vs. a noun clause doing the same job" table into a slot visualizer (that / wh- / whether clauses × subject, object, after a preposition), with the singular-verb rule for subject clauses. The word-order fixer is the golden rule (the manual's three question → clause pairs plus the pitfall pairs); the spotlight card is the "What we need is…" pattern; the special-cases card covers the exceptions box (preparatory it, dropping that, the fact that, whether vs if, whether… or not, subjunctive) and the wh- + to-infinitive note; the red card is the common-mistakes box.
- Build is productive: students assemble a clause by choosing the introducer and the word order (exercises B, D and F in reverse), then transform direct questions or two ideas into one sentence (exercise B, exercise E and the homework "join the two sentences"), with validation.
- Drill merges the exercises into one graded engine (★ identify & choose · ★★ error hunt & complete · ★★★ spotlight pattern, preparatory It, the fact that) with a score and streak.
- Works offline. Reading/writing only — no audio.
Build a noun clause
Read the idea, then choose the introducer and the word order the clause needs. The machine builds the sentence — guess before you check.
Drill — one flow, three levels
★ identify & choose · ★★ fix the error & complete · ★★★ spotlight pattern, preparatory It & the fact that. Keep your streak alive. (Igual escalera que tu Cuaderno de tareas.)